Class 319: Year 2008-2009
by Godzillafan93
Summary: In the Fall of 2008 Kirk Abel transfers from his prestigious private school in England to Hoover High School in Gray Summit, Colorado. He doesn't have long to settle in before a string of horrific, fatal accidents begins to claim the lives of his friends and classmates. Now Kirk is in a race against a mysterious force called the Calamity, a vengeful spirit harnessing Death itself.
1. ForwardIntroduction

**A/N** : Well, it's been quite a while since I've posted anything at all on this website (we're approaching five years, which I never thought would happen, but here we are). Anyway, the idea for this story came about as a discussion I had with another user on the _Another_ wiki, Shanethefilmaker (you can find him there or on YouTube, and definitely should). Essentially we were talking about how an "Americanized" adaptation of _Another_ would look. I liked the idea so much I decided to start writing it. This story began on August 6th, 2014 (ironically just a few weeks shy of seven years after the events therein began to take place).

I don't know if such a thing as this exists on FFN already, but if so I want the record to be set straight that this is more or less my own interpretation of the series, bolstered by the fantastic database of information that is the _Another_ wiki (and I should know, I've been the admin since the summer of 2014). Keep in mind that while feedback is always welcome, I'm already several "episodes" into things now, and so any suggestions you make _probably_ won't be implemented, since for one thing you won't have any idea how far the story has actually progressed. All the same, I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I have writing it. As always, read, review, subscribe, but be careful.

It's already started.

I'm sure you've heard the stories. The rumors whispered in these halls. The stories of a darkness hiding among us. Someone who doesn't belong.

Someone…dead.

Someone has to make a record. Someone has to tell people what actually happened…and why. Because as tragic as the events of those years were, knowing the _why_ can sometimes make things less horrific.

Here's what I remember.

1972 was a year like any other. A student named Jordan was assigned to Homeroom #319. Everyone knew Jordan, and everyone loved her. I'm sure you've known people like that; there's always someone in every class. A fixture. The rock upon which everything else is founded.

So when Jordan and her entire family were killed in a fire, the class was struck a devastating blow. No one could believe it. Jordan couldn't be…gone, could she? It was unthinkable. Impossible. Inconceivable.

And then one day someone took the next logical step.

 _Jordan isn't dead, is she?_

 _No, of course not. See, isn't that her there? She's right there at her desk. Just look._

 _Can't you see her?_

Soon the entire class was in on it. They called on her to answer questions during lessons. They sat with her at lunch. They walked home with her after school.

Then something remarkable happened. When it came time to put together the yearbook for 1972, someone noticed something not quite…right about Room 319's picture. Someone was there who shouldn't have been.

Jordan had rejoined her class.

There was a sad smile on her face, and her skin was deathly pale, but it _was_ her. Her friends were certain of it. There was no mistaking it. Jordan had come back.

It sounds so touching, when you put it that way, doesn't it? A group of students, just children, unable to cope with the death of someone they love, brings her back for one last chance to be a part of their lives. A real feel good tale, like those ghost stories you hear about, where a loved one appears in their relative's dreams to tell them everything will be okay, while a thousand miles away they're dying?

It would be…

Except…

It didn't end there. That was just the beginning.

And what came next was far worse…


	2. Prologue

Prologue: Far from Home

September 5th, 2008

Gray Summit, Colorado

(KIRK)

It was, he decided, probably not the best way to reacquaint himself with the land of his birth. Kirk Abel had been in the Unite States for precisely…he checked his watch. Fifty-two hours. Fifty-two hours, and in that time he'd spent thirty-six of it bedridden. Worse, he'd missed his first day of school. He'd heard they'd planned a party for him, even. _Getting off to a wonderful start_ he thought glumly.

"Well, you're definitely talkative today" said Elaine Rice, shaking her head and looking at him, her friendly smile as much a part of her uniform as her pink scrubs.

Kirk made a face. "Sorry. I was just…thinking."  
"Well, you should be careful about that" Elaine replied. "Once you start thinking, you never know when you'll stop."

Kirk snorted. "I'll try to keep that in mind."  
Elaine shook her head. "That's not something I expected from you. British people are really droll, do you know that?"  
"I don't…mean to be" Kirk replied.

"Don't worry about it. I think it's hilarious." Elaine smiled at him again and nodded toward the book on his bedside table. "What do you think?"  
"I like it. I've read some Poe before, but never Lovecraft. We never really covered him in school."  
Elaine nodded. "Yeah. It seems weird to think for you English Literature really is _English_. Here we always got a mixture of both. I wonder why they don't do that in the UK?"

Kirk shrugged. "Who knows, but I think we're the poorer for it. Thanks for loaning this to me."  
"Hey, anytime. I'm always happy to meet another horror lover" Elaine replied, still smiling. It was weird, Kirk thought. Elaine Rice looked like his idea of a ditzy American: blonde hair, blue eyes, loud, cheerful, and somewhat klutzy. But deep down she was just as voracious a reader as he was. They'd started talking when he'd asked what sorts of books the hospital stocked. She'd explained, being a Catholic institution, they mostly had Bibles, before asking him what he wanted. He'd told her he was a fan of Richard Matheson, and things had progressed from there.

What followed would've probably been another lengthy discussion of their book tastes. Kirk had had several of those with Elaine over the past day; it was to the point he was starting to suspect she was looking for reasons to come see him. He didn't want to ask her, though. For one thing, it might make her uncomfortable, and for another, it ran the risk of her stopping, and he didn't want that. He enjoyed their conversations.

However, it wasn't to be today.

Just before things could really get going, a new comer entered Kirk's hospital room. He was a boy about Kirk's own age, but thin and pale. He wore a pair of large, black framed glasses which vanished into his precisely combed hair and made him look as if he had abnormally large eyes. Around his neck he wore a small plastic card on a blue lanyard. Kirk could just make out the other boy's name, below a small picture.

Thomas Martin

"Kirk Abel?" he asked, looking at Kirk in uncertainty. "I was here to-oh, I'm terribly sorry" he added, realizing he'd just walked into the middle of a conversation. "I didn't mean to interrupt."

Elaine laughed. "Oh, don't worry, we weren't talking about anything important. Are you here to see Kirk?"  
The other boy, Thomas, nodded. "Yes ma'am."

Elaine flushed a little at that. "Ma'am? I don't get called _that_ very often." She turned to smile at Kirk. "Well, my friend, we'll talk later."  
Kirk shrugged. "I'll be here."

Elaine was laughing as she left. Thomas watched her go, before waving to someone in the hallway. "Ladies?"  
Two other teenagers stepped around the corner. They were exactly opposite. One girl was short, with light brown hair reaching her shoulders, and large-framed glasses which magnified her brown eyes. She was wearing a nametag like Thomas. Hers read "Sheryl Link." She smiled shyly at Kirk, who found himself smiling back. It was a pretty smile.

The other girl was tall and thin, with long black hair tied into a braid. She was somewhat dark, bespeaking what Kirk assumed was Mexican or South American ethnicity; neither one a race he'd seen much of in England. Her nametag read "Isabel Castille." She did not smile.

"Sorry about that" Thomas said again, looking back down the corridor, presumably at Elaine. "I didn't mean to scare your friend away. It's just, there's not much time between when school lets out and visiting hours are available. As it was, it was something of a race to get here on time."

"Oh, not at all" Kirk replied, slightly confused. "But…why go to all that trouble?"

Thomas's eyes widened a little. "Oh, how rude of me!" he exclaimed. "My name is Thomas Martin. This is Sherry Link, and Isabel Castille" he gestured to each girl in turn.

Sherry waved at him. "Nice to meet you" she said cheerfully.

Isabel just inclined her head. "Likewise."

"It's nice to meet you too" Kirk replied, still a little confused. "But why are-"

"Sherry and I are part of Hoover's Service Society" Thomas explained. "We organize volunteer work around town: picking up trash, landscaping, that sort of thing. We heard about your accident yesterday, so I thought it might be nice for us to come introduce ourselves."

Sherry nodded. "It's scary enough starting a new school as it is; _you_ came from another country! I… _We_ thought it'd be nice for you to have some familiar faces on Monday."

"That's very considerate of you" Kirk replied, meaning it. It _would_ be nice to know some of his classmates going into term.

"Well, we heard it was your first time back in the States for a long time, we didn't want the experience to be _totally_ terrible" Sherry answered, still smiling. Kirk found he liked that smile. "How long has it been?"  
"Well…I was born here, actually" Kirk replied. "I think in this very hospital, as a matter of fact, in 1993."

"So, I guess that makes you a local?" Isabel asked. It was the first complete sentence Kirk had heard her speak. Her voice was surprisingly firm, almost combative, but he couldn't help but get the impression it was an act, and not something that came naturally to her. "Have you ever been back since?"

Kirk shook his head. "No. My…my mum passed away after she gave birth to me, so I was here for about a month while my dad made arrangements to come get me and take me back to England with him. I stayed with my grandparents then. I've not been back in the country since."

Isabel nodded, as if she were thinking something over. "I'm sorry for your loss." It was, Kirk decided, the most genuine thing she'd said.

"Thank you" he replied, meaning it. Not a day went by he didn't miss his mother. He suspected, had he asked, Isabel would've understood that better than the other two.

It was quiet for a moment.

"Oh, I almost forgot, Isabel has something for you" Thomas said, gesturing to the other girl. She took a step toward him, a small plastic card in her hand.

"This is your ID badge" she explained. "You'll need to scan it to open any door except the main office door at school. The Administration wants you to wear it at all times. Not doing so will result in a seven dollar fee the _first_ time, and nine dollars each consecutive time, so make sure you have it with you. It's a stupid thing to get in trouble for."  
Kirk took the badge. It was small, about the size of a credit card, with a small hole punched at the top, Kirk assumed for a lanyard like his classmates wore. In the center of the card was his picture, below which was listed his name, his grade (Sophomore), the term years (2008-2009), and his homeroom number. On the back were instructions on what to do with the card if found, as well as an admonishment not to vandalize it. Kirk flipped it back over and made a face at the picture they'd chosen.

"Is…something wrong?" Thomas asked, concerned.

"It's…nothing" Kirk replied. "This just isn't all that good a picture of me, that's all." It was, in fact, his school picture from the previous year. Kirk had been sick when they took it, and it showed.  
Sherry smiled at him. "Oh, I don't know. I doubt you take all that many _bad_ pictures" she said.

"You'd be amazed" Kirk replied, not sure what to make of that last remark. _Is she flirting with me? That's unexpected._

He turned to look at Isabel, who was still standing a few feet from his bed. "So, Thomas and Sherry are with the Service Club. What about you? What club are you with?"  
"I'm in charge of Countermeasures" she replied, the coldness returning.

"Countermeasures?" Kirk asked. "What's that?"

"It's not important" Isabel replied. "Just know, if the time comes, I'll need your full cooperation. Can you do that?"  
Kirk wanted to ask what she was talking about, but changed his mind on looking at their faces. Even Sherry wasn't smiling now. "I…I guess so."

Isabel nodded curtly. "Good." Then she smiled. This, like her sympathy for his mother, was genuine. Kirk decided she'd probably have been pretty, if she did it more often. "I think we're going to get along just fine." She held out her hand.

Kirk looked at it for a few seconds in confusion. _That's a little_ formal, _isn't it?_ Then he realized he was being rude, and took it. "I think so too…Isabel?"  
Isabel's eyes had widened a little when his hand touched hers. She stared straight ahead, as if she were looking _through_ him.

"Isabel?" Thomas asked, taking a step toward her.

"Are you _sure_ you've never been in Cedar Falls since '93? _Absolutely_ sure?" she asked, the iron edge to her voice back again.

Kirk blinked in confusion. "Of course. Why?"

"Isabel?" Thomas asked again, starting to reach for her shoulder, but the other girl straightened and let him go.

"What was that all about?" Kirk asked.

"Sorry" she replied. "It's just…never mind." She turned to the others. "Well, I'm sure he wants to get some rest. We should probably be going." It occurred to Kirk Thomas had been the one initially in charge of this little "meet and greet" but Isabel was now the one calling the shots. _Isn't that interesting?_ he thought, though he wasn't sure why.

Thomas nodded once. "You're right. Well Kirk, it was nice meeting you."

"It was nice to meet you too" Kirk replied, noticing Thomas and Sherry's smiles were back in place. Isabel still looked puzzled by something, though.

"I look forward to seeing you on Monday!" Sherry called as they left the room.

"Me too!" Kirk called back.

Then they were gone, and he was alone with his thoughts. He tried to remember what Aunt Lily had told him, and reconcile it with what he'd just learned…

Earlier That Day…

"…absolutely horrible" Kirk's Grandmother said, shaking her head. "To think, it's your first day here, and you're already sick."

It wasn't, strictly speaking, Kirk's first day in the US, or even in Colorado; he'd been in country for twenty hours already. Still, it was something he'd come to expect from his Gran. She was a dramatic individual, and according to his father, always had been.

"Kirk will be fine" Lily said, somewhat exasperated. "You've got tha told Godiva strength, don't you?" she asked with a smile.

Kirk nodded. "That's right." He smiled.

"That's the spirit!" she said cheerfully.

"Just look at me" Kirk said, flexing his arm. "Regular Captain Britain."

Lily cuffed his head. "Butthead" she said playfully. Then she smiled at him. Kirk smiled back.  
Lily was his mother's little sister, with fifteen years between them, and fifteen years between Lily and himself. According to his father, she looked just like his mum, who Kirk had only ever known from pictures and a few old videos slowly deteriorating with age. It was a terrible thing, not knowing your own mother, but he'd gotten used to it.

He had a hard time seeing Lily that way, though. According to his father and his aunt, Rachel Godiva had been a quiet, serene, and exceptionally kind woman. Lily was kind, yes, but she was also boisterous and youthful. The two looked alike: they had the same wide, open face, the same brown eyes (though Lily had to wear glasses, something his mother never did), the same brown hair (Lily wore hers up, and always had, since it kept her from getting paint in it)…they were a lot alike, but Kirk saw her less as a surrogate mother and more as a big sister. He didn't quiet know how Lily saw him in return, but he knew she loved him at least as much as he loved her. That was what family was about, wasn't it?  
"Are you ready for school on Monday?" she asked, deciding to change the subject. She and his father didn't see eye to eye on much, but they were both in firm agreement on one thing: dwelling on Kirk's sickness just wouldn't do. It was something Kirk appreciated; he hated thinking about being somehow incomplete compared to his friends.

"I'm not really sure" he replied honestly. "What should I expect?"

"Well, you'll notice some things are immediately different in American schools" Lily replied. "For one thing, we spell differently. I'm not sure if they'll make an allowance for you or not."

Kirk shrugged. "Well, I've been doing it this way since I was five. I don't think I'll be unable to unlearn that any time soon. Besides, we use the same letters, from A to Zed, don't we?"  
Lily hit him again. "I'm tryin' be serious here. Come on now."

"Okay, fine. What else should I keep in mind?"  
"Well…expect to feel a little violated, at first. In America, we tend to be pretty open. People will use your first names, even your teachers; you'll still need to use their last names, though."  
"What else?"  
"Well, expect lunch to not be especially good or healthy. That should be a given, and our tea here isn't all that special either."

"I never was much for tea' Kirk replied.

"Just as well." Lily paused and thought for a few seconds. "There may be something else…"

"What?" Kirk asked, curious.

Lily started to answer, then looked at her watch. "Is that the time? Crap!" She gathered her bag. "Sorry Kirk, but I've gotta get Mom back home and head to work. I'll see you later, okay?"  
"Uh…okay?" Kirk replied.

"Love you."

"Love you too."

And Kirk had spent the rest of the day more or less alone, reading Elaine's book or watching TV. America may have been a foreign country, but he was coming to realize one truism about it: the television networks here were a lot better about timing than what he was used to. He wondered if that was because they were privately owned. It was something to think about, as he settled back in the hospital bed. He'd taken an immediate liking to the American Sci-Fi network. At the moment, they were showing something called a "marathon" of the previous years' _Doctor Who_. He remembered this particular arc, but it didn't make it any less enjoyable to watch as David Tennant and Catherine Tate gallivant across the stars…

Two Weeks Earlier…

"But why _not_?" Kirk asked, realizing he sounded petulant, but further realizing he didn't care.

"Because it'll be dangerous" Kenneth Abel replied, sounding tired, both of this day and this argument. "And after what happened at school yesterday, it'd be especially dangerous for _you_. Think about all that dust. And the heat. It'd be murder on your lungs. Trust me, you're better off not coming."  
"But _Dad-_ "

Kenneth folded his arms. "No buts" he said, shaking his head. "That's final."

Kirk let out a sigh. "This isn't fair."  
Kenneth put his hand on his son's shoulder. Like Kirk, he was a tall, thin man, though he affected a beard, something Kirk had never tried. They both had the same dark hair, the same blue eyes; they even sounded alike. The only aspect of Rachel Abel which lived on in her son was his smile. Kenneth said it was just like hers.

"Son, you know I don't want to leave you here" he said. "If there were another way, I'd take you with me, or I'd stay here. Besides, it'll only be for a few months. And think about how much fun it'll be to live in a foreign country."

"But it's _America_ , Dad. That's like sending me to Wales…no, even worse. In Wales they at least speak a different language." He paused. "Besides, I don't even know _them_!"

Kenneth snorted at that. His son had inherited his sense of humor, though unlike him, Kirk didn't joke very often. Then he turned serious. "I've already talked to your aunt. Lily and I agree it's time you met the other side of your family. Your mother was very close to her parents; it's why she had you in Colorado in the first place. She wanted you to be born around family. And you already know Lily, anyway. Normally you only get to see her on holidays; now you'll have an entire year with her."

Kirk hadn't thought of it that way. In the end, it helped a little, but he still felt as though he were being foisted off by his father so he could get away. That was a feeling he didn't particularly enjoy, but one he'd gotten used to. Kenneth Abel was a brilliant archeologist, a hard worker, a decent man, but he was a _terrible_ father. At least he knew it; he just didn't know what to do about it, so…

So, Kirk Abel was going to America.

Now…

When Kirk woke up, he realized he'd fallen asleep with the TV on. Someone had come by and shut it off, and there was a plate sitting beside his bed, a pinkish-orange plastic dome sitting over it. _Elaine_ Kirk realized, feeling a little embarrassed. Still, it was the first uninterrupted sleep he'd had since the plane, which wasn't so bad.

Underneath the plastic dome was a plate containing a slab of something supposed to be beef, frozen corn, and a cup of Jello, something Kirk had learned was the only decent part of hospital food. Next to the plate was a folded note, atop two candy bars, both labeled Snickers. Kirk unfolded the note.

 _Kirk,_

 _You looked exhausted, so I decided not to wake you. Your nurse friend said you'd been asleep for a few hours when I got here. Falling asleep in front of the TV? We'll turn you into an American yet!_

 _I brought you these; I wasn't sure what kind of candy you liked, but your mom was always a big fan of them. So, here's hoping taste is genetic_

 _._

 _According to Doctor Welles, you're to be discharged tomorrow. Grandma and I will be here to get you before lunch. I'm sure you're sick to death (poor choice of words, I know) of hospital food by now. We'll take you home and let you get changed, then take you out for lunch. Your choice._

 _I feel just_ awful _I haven't been there for you the last two days. Work's been_ frantic _, getting all the new kids settled in. I hope you're ready for school on Monday; I've already gotten all your books picked up for the year. If you have any questions or problems, you can always come to me._

 _Well, I've gotta head home. I'll see you tomorrow._

 _Lots of Love,_

 _Lily_

Kirk had to smile. His aunt had drawn a small, cartoon version of herself underneath her signature, cheerfully waving at him. It was something she'd done inside every birthday card he'd gotten for the past fifteen years. "Lily Godiva Originals" she called them. It was the reason Lily's cards were the only ones he kept.

Kirk experimentally poked the meatloaf. It was cold and rubbery; Elaine had told him it'd be wise not to eat anything meat-related the hospital served. "I work here and even _I_ don't eat this stuff" she'd confided. In any case, the plastic dome hadn't managed to do much more than keep it tepid, and Kirk wasn't particularly hungry at the moment.

He checked his watch. It was 7:29; visiting hours were almost over, and he didn't expect any more in any case. The surprise visit from his classmates had been just that; he wondered if Lily had anything to do with it, but put the thought aside. It wasn't relevant, anyway.

With nothing much to do, Kirk decided to explore a little. He'd not been able to move much when he'd been admitted; this was the first day of freedom he'd had. _What better way to spend it than by wondering around a hospital at night?_ With that cynical thought, he found his shoes and left the room he'd spent the last forty-two hours in.

The hospital was dark, and the corridors were deserted. Several patients had their TVs on, but Kirk felt like he'd done enough of that for one day. This floor was the only one he'd seen much of, so he decided he'd leave it as soon as possible. There had to be an elevator around… _yes_! Kirk stepped inside, then studied the buttons for as he tried to decide where he wanted to go. He wasn't sure which was more baffling: the fact the building had a twelfth and fourteenth floor, but no thirteenth, or the fact it had three separate floors for Ground, first, and Basement.

He was still making up his mind when the elevator started moving on its own. He shrugged inwardly. _I guess someone else needed it_ he decided. There wasn't much he could do about it in any case, and besides, it wasn't as if he'd really planned this in advance.

The elevator began its descent. Kirk stepped to the side, opposite the buttons. Whoever was about to get on, he suspect they'd have a destination in mind, so he might as well stay out of the way.

It didn't take long for him to meet his new fellow passenger. She wasn't what he'd been expecting.

She was a short girl, Kirk judged about his own age, either fourteen or fifteen, but short and slight. She wore her dark hair shoulder length, her bangs cut precisely above her eyebrows. For some reason it reminded him of a doll's hair.

The girl wore clothing just a few sizes too big for her, as if it had been bought for someone else. It didn't look especially used, but he suspected had he known anything about American fashion it would've been a year or two out of date.

She kept her head down, so Kirk couldn't see her face, and she didn't spare him so much as a glance, simply moving to the buttons, then taking a position at the opposite side of the elevator after making her selection. Kirk felt he should find her creepy, but there was something… _calming_ about her. He couldn't quite place it, but her presence didn't bother him.

"H-hello?" he tried, timidly, not sure what he was nervous about. The girl, in any case, didn't respond. She just kept staring at the ground.

It was then Kirk noticed what she held in her hand. It was a doll, but a finely made one, with what looked like hand-made clothing and hair that _had_ to be real; clearly this was no toy, though the girl held it casually, by one of its arms, the rest of its body drooping sadly. _Just like her_ Kirk realized.  
"Is everything okay?" he asked, trying a different approach. The girl still didn't answer; she just kept staring down at the ugly floor tiles, as if the answers to life's great mysteries lay somewhere down there. For all Kirk knew, they did. He turned back to looking at the elevator. The button the girl had pressed was still lit up. "B…The Basement?" Kirk wondered aloud. "Now what could you want down there?"  
"I've lost a part of me."

The voice caused Kirk to start, his breath exploding from his lungs. It was a calm, almost serene voice, but Kirk could detect an undertone of sadness to it. This was someone who'd clearly been through a lot, but for whom tragedy wasn't something worth dwelling on, but a matter of course.

"What?"

"My other half…she's down there, all alone in the dark, the poor dear. I can't stay with her, so I thought I'd bring her a friend to keep her company."

"Your…other half?" Kirk asked, not comprehending.

"Have you ever known someone who, when you're together, makes you feel whole and complete for the first time in your life?"

"I don't understand."

The girl sighed, still not looking at him. "No, I suppose not. It's difficult to explain, but I wouldn't have to if you'd felt that way before. I'm sorry for you in some ways, because everyone should feel so complete. But if that other part of you is taken away…the pain can be unbearable."

"Did you…lose someone?"  
The girl nodded. "Yes. My best friend died here Thursday night."

Kirk's eyes widened a little. "I…I'm so sorry." He felt the strong urge to touch her, to convey that emotion, to convey to this girl that _someone_ else cared, but he didn't know if that'd be appropriate.

The girl still didn't look at him, but she smiled faintly. "You're very kind" she said quietly. "You're the first person to tell me that all day."

"You can't be serious!" Kirk blurted. "I mean…surely _someone's_ been kind to you?"  
"You would be amazed" the girl replied.

Jus then, the elevator came to a stop. The girl walked forward, past Kirk and toward the doors as they swung open, revealing a dark and deserted hallway. It gave Kirk the chills to look at it.

"Are you…are you going to be okay?" he asked, watching the girl head down the hall. The elevator doors tried to close, but he kept them open with his hand. "I can…are you sure you want to be alone down here?"

The girl turned to look at him for the first time. He could barely make out her face in the dim light, though he could tell her skin was deathly pale. "You really are kind" she repeated, still smiling faintly, and Kirk thought, a little sadly. "But I need to be alone right now. I'm sure you understand."

"Of course. I didn't mean to intrude." Kirk nodded. Then he realized something else: the girl was wearing a name badge, like his classmates had earlier. "Wait! You're…you're in high school, yes?"

The girl nodded.

"Do you…do you go to Hoover?" he asked.

The girl nodded again. "That's right."

"Me too" Kirk answered. "I'm Kirk Abel. What…what's your name?"  
"Holly…" the girl said, turning to walk away. "Holly Jordan."

"Will I see you Monday?" Kirk called after her, not sure what else to say.

"I doubt it" Holly replied, not looking at him. "But I'll probably see you."

Kirk watched her walk down the hallway, a lonely little ghost in a deserted hospital corridor. He wanted to say something, but wasn't sure what. She was angled toward a door now, one at the far end. A sing hanging above it bore a simple, brutal legend:

MORGUE

"Holly?" he called after her. The girl stopped, then turned to look at him over her shoulder. Kirk felt like he was being weighed and measured, and for some reason decided he didn't want to be found wanting, not in this case.

"It'll get better. I promise. Everything will be okay."

The girl smiled again, still faintly. "You're an…optimist. That's a rare thing around here. I hope nothing happens to change that. It's a rare virtue." Without another word she pushed open the door to the mortuary, leaving Kirk alone in the elevator, which at last gave up and decided to take him back upstairs.

He didn't explore the rest of the hospital that night.

TWO MONTHS EARLIER…

"How's the birthday boy?" Lily asked over the phone. It wasn't the best connection, and due to the wonders of time zones, it was only four in the afternoon for his aunt, but ten in the evening for him. On the bright side, at least he didn't have school tomorrow.

"He forgot." Kirk's answer was simple and direct, but at the same time managed to convey all the frustration he felt at this particular moment.

There wasn't a sound from the other end of the phone. Kirk was concerned at first he'd lost the connection to his aunt, but then he heard her voice again.

"Put him on the phone" she said, her voice firm and urgent.

"Aunt Lily-"

" _Put him on the phone_ now" his aunt repeated.

"Don't…it's not worth it" Kirk said, not really believing it, but not knowing what else to say. He loved his dad, and he knew his dad loved him, but…couldn't he try just a little harder?

"Kirk, that's not right. He shouldn't keep-"

"He's not doing it on purpose" Kirk replied. "He just…he's got so much to do. At least he remembered to cook tonight" he added, which wasn't much of a blessing; Kirk was a much better cook than his dad, but then, he _had_ to be. TV dinners and eating out every night where no way to grow up, not to mention being unhealthy and expensive.

"Kirk, I…I'm sorry" Lily said finally, clearly not sure what else to do. "I wish…sometimes I wish…"

"I know" Kirk replied, even though he really didn't, but figured she meant she wished his mother hadn't died. "I do too."  
"You just gotta remember the good things, buddy" Lily said. "Home is where people love you. And I'll always love you, okay?"

Kirk smiled faintly at that. This was why he loved talking to his aunt; she always managed to make him feel better. "Thanks, Lily. I love you too."

NOW…

Kirk wasn't sure why that particular conversation had popped back into his head at this particular moment. He wasn't sure if had something to do with his meeting with Holly, or if the darkness was just making him depressed. But an interesting thought occurred to him.

He may have travelled several thousand kilometers from where he'd grown up, but for the first time in fifteen years, he was _home_. He supposed that was something.


	3. The House of Ghosts

Part 1:

Q&A

Chapter 1: The House of Ghosts

September 6th, 2008

(KIRK)

The whole thing was some absurd American rule, or tradition, or something equally stupid. Elaine had smiled in embarrassment and told him she couldn't do anything about it; they were just the rules. Grandma, of course, had gone off when she'd learned; convinced he was far sicker than he was. Lily had just smiled in resignation, patted Kirk on the shoulder, and told him he'd have to grin and bear it. And so Kirk Abel, completely capable of walking, was pushed out of the hospital in a flimsy-looking folding wheelchair.

 _It could've been worse_ Kirk thought later. He wasn't sure _how_ , with Gran fluttering around him the entire time, afraid he'd shrivel up and blow away, more often than not getting in the path of the chair and earning irritated looks from Lily and Elaine, who'd come down to see him off, but he supposed it was always possible. _We could get attacked by terrorists or something_ he thought. At least they let him wheel himself out. He'd insisted in that regard, and Elaine hadn't complained.

She shook her head when Kirk tried to hand her back her book. "No, no, go ahead and finish it. It's fine."

"But how will I get it back to you?" Kirk asked.

Elaine smiled down at him, something she'd been doing the entire time he'd known her. "You'll be in town for awhile, right? Just bring it back when you're finished. I'm almost always here." She tussled his hair, something Kirk normally found irritating, but didn't complain about this one time. "Besides, now you have a reason to come see me, right?"

Kirk wasn't sure why, but that made his face redden a little.

" _Oh_ kay, I think it's time we got you home" Lily said, shooting Elaine an irritated look the nurse was blissfully (or willfully) unaware of. She helped Kirk out of the chair.

"I'll be sure to bring this back soon" Kirk assured Elaine.

Elaine nodded. "Good to hear. See ya soon, Mister Horror!" She'd taken to calling him that. Kirk wasn't sure why, but he suspected complaining would've only made her come up with a worse nickname. Besides, what was _really_ wrong with that?

The car trip across town wasn't all that exciting. Gray Summit wasn't an especially big settlement, though like most cities in the American Midwest, it sprawled. Kirk suspected he'd at least have something to do after class: everything was spread far enough apart he'd have a lot to explore. That was good. Kirk liked to walk.

The Godivas lived on the edge of town, in a cul de sac. You could actually see the foothills of the mountains from here, the road snaking around them like garland on a Christmas tree. He could barely make out cars moving up and down the mountains as well, which suggested there must be _something_ up there of interest. He decided he'd worry about that later, though.

"We've got you set up in the guest room" his grandmother told him. "It's got a bed and everything else you'll need. We've already moved your things as well, so you won't have to unpack."  
Lily smiled at him from the front seat. "Yeah. All we've been missing is you."

His grandparents' home was modest. It had a small but immaculate front yard (though the grass was getting a little long, and had flat out died in some places), a rectangular mailbox sitting at the end of the driveway, a row of flowers planted along the edge of the house, just far enough out as not to be shaded by the building's shadow. For all that, it looked like the other houses on the street, and Kirk immediately had a new question: do all houses in America look alike?

The driveway was wide enough for two vehicles: the family station wagon, which Kirk suspected had been in service with the Godivas since his mother was his age, and Lily's small, red Volkswagen Jetta. The Jetta was parked off to the side, and the station wagon had no trouble whatsoever edging around it. Lily pressed a button on her sun visor, and the house's garage door slowly, painfully began to swing up.

Inside where his grandfather's gardening tools, as neatly arrayed as the yard had been. Gardening was Michael Godiva's one true passion, and like everything else in the former paratrooper's life, he liked his to be extremely orderly.

"I'm sure you'll want to shower" Lily said as she made her way toward what Kirk assumed was the living room. "Your stuff's in the last room down the hall on your left. The bathroom is right across the hall."  
"Thanks" Kirk said, heading that way.

The house itself was just as neat as he'd expected. There were a few pictures on the walls, mostly of relatives he didn't recognize, or of what he assumed were his grandparents when they were younger. Then one caught his eye.

It was of two women, but two who were exceptionally alike in every detail. Only their ages marked them as different people. The younger of the two sat before an easel, a paintbrush posed in her hand, as if she'd been caught right in the middle of painting when the picture was taken. She was smiling, but it was a shy smile, like she didn't often do so.

The older woman was standing behind her, her hands resting on the younger woman's shoulders, like she'd been looking over them at her work. She was also facing the camera, but her smile was more self assured, and more content, as if she knew she was right where she needed to be, and wanted you to make sure you were, too.

"Mom took this two weeks before you were born" Lily said, coming over to stand beside him. "It's the last picture of the both of us…and in a way, it's the only picture we have of us with you in it too." She pointed to the older woman's belly, which Kirk noticed for the first time was a bit swollen.

"You two look so happy together" Kirk commented.

Lily nodded. "Yeah. Rachel was my best friend. Her smile could light up a room. She made everyone feel welcome. And she had a different one for everybody. That's the one she kept for me. She had another one for your dad, too. I think the most beautiful one I can remember was the one she wore when she held you for the first time…."  
Kirk looked over at his aunt, to see she'd taken her glasses off and was rubbing at her eyes. "Lily?" he asked, not sure what else to do.

Lily took a deep breath and straightened her shoulders. "Sorry. I just…some days I miss her a lot."

Kirk put his arm around his aunt. "I know. I never really knew her, but I miss her too."

Lily chuckled sadly and returned his embrace. "You've grown up so much, kid. I still remember the chubby little baby who kept trying to take my glasses off and was just mystified by my hair. Time flies, doesn't it?"  
"It doesn't look like it has for you" Kirk replied. "You've not aged at all."

"Flattery will get you nowhere" Lily said. Then she cuffed him on the shoulder. "Now go take a shower and get changed. I'm _hungry_."

True to his grandmother's word, Kirk found his things spread between the guest room's closet and an old but still sturdy dresser sitting in the corner. It didn't take him long to find some pants and a shirt he felt comfortable wearing in public. Turning, he started across the hallway, only to gasp in shock.

There was a shape sitting on the bed in the next room down. The shape was thin and bent with age, but vaguely familiar to him. "Grandpa?" he asked, cautiously.

The shape's head angled slowly toward him. "Kirk…" it said softly, the voice just barely audible. "Yes…you were coming home today, weren't you? Lily will be so happy…and Rachel…she'll be so glad you've finally come home…"

"Grandpa? Grandpa, Mum's…"

"Oh…yes, that's right…isn't it? She's gone. Poor Rachel…and poor Lily too…Well, at least you're here for…happier reasons than last Spring…right, Kirk?"  
"Grandpa…it's been fifteen years…"

Michael Godiva blinked at him from the darkness. "Has it…has it really? That…can't be…Can it? Time…it's a funny thing…isn't it?"

"Grandpa, are you…okay?" Kirk asked. He hadn't seen this man since he was born, but he remembered Michael Godiva's voice on the phone: strong and self-assured as the day he'd jumped out of planes in North Africa to fight the Nazis. Seeing him like this…It was troubling.

"You're a conscientious boy, Kirk. Me…I'm an old man. Old and confused." He sighed, shaking his head. "Don't pay any attention to me. You don't want to get confused too, do you?" His voice seemed firmer now and a part of Kirk was relieved, but at the same time, he found this entire conversation…unsettling.

"Grandpa, I've got to take a shower. Then we can all go eat lunch. Doesn't that sound fun?"  
Michael Godiva might've tried to laugh, but if he did, it became a cough almost immediately, and that cough became several. "It does" he said when he was finished. "But I'm afraid…I don't get out much anymore. Helena does most of my errands for me…nowadays. But you all go without me. I'm sure it will be…fun." Without another word, he rather ponderously rolled back over in the bed. A few seconds later, Kirk heard him start to snore.

LATER…

"What do you think?" Lily asked. The three of them were arrayed around a small corner table in an equally small pizzeria a few blocks from his grandparent's house. It had been decided they'd ease Kirk into America food gradually. After all, pizza came from Italy, didn't it?  
"Not bad" Kirk said, before taking another bite. Whatever agricultural differences there were between America and England, they were immediately evident in the taste of his native country's food. And the beef was definitely better.

Lily took a sip from the beer she'd ordered with their lunch. Kirk, for his part, tried not to goggle at her. He had no idea his aunt drank. He'd known her for fifteen years, and yet it had never come up. He wasn't oblivious to the disapproving look his grandmother was giving her, either, though Lily seemed to be ignoring her altogether.

"Well, don't get used to it" she continued. "They'll serve pizza at the school too. Don't…don't eat it. If you aren't careful, it'll try to eat _you_."  
Kirk chuckled. "I'll keep that in mind. Besides, am I allowed to bring my lunch?"  
"Well, you _can_ " his grandmother said. "But Kirk, I'm not sure I'll be up to making it, and Lily leaves for work so early in the morning…"

"Oh, don't worry" Kirk replied. "I can cook. It won't be a problem."  
"Well, if you _want to_ …" his grandmother replied, her voice trailing off.

There was an awkward silence.

"So, are you ready for school Monday?" Lily asked, finishing her beer. She didn't wave for another, which Kirk saw his grandmother note with approval.

"As I'll ever be" Kirk replied. "Honestly, I think I may be a little _too_ prepared. Everyone seems to be going out of their way to make me feel welcome."

"Oh?" Lily asked. "Did you meet some of your classmates?"  
Kirk nodded. "Yeah, right before you visited me the second time. It was a group of them, said they were from the Service Club. Two girls and a boy."

"Thomas Martin and Sherry Link, right? I'm not surprised. They're good kids, and very friendly. They didn't say anything to me about it, though…"  
"Do they know you're my aunt?" Kirk asked, surprised.

Lily nodded. "Some of them do. I've talked it over with your homeroom teacher, Mr. Light. It's the reason I don't have his room this year; the Administration didn't like it. It was hard enough to convince them to let me teach art for your class. You'll see me around, anyway. And besides, Robert's a good teacher. Just…cut him some slack, okay? He's under a lot of stress this year. His mom's sick, so he's having to take care of her in addition to teaching full time. I'm helping out as much as the Administration will let me, but it's still a lot to keep track of for him." She paused. "Hang on. You said _three_. Who was the other girl?"  
"Isabel Castille she said her name was. It was odd, she said she wasn't from the Service Club. She seemed very serious."

"Isabel…yes, I know her. She's had…a difficult time the last few months. She's not a bad person, though…she's just determined."

"Oh, she seemed nice enough. I'm not sure what was talking about, though. When I asked her what club she was from, she said she was in charge of something called 'Countermeasures.' Does that mean anything to you?"  
Kirk watched his aunt's eyes widen a little. "She didn't tell you?"

Kirk shook his head. "No. She didn't explain anything. She just said, if the time came, I'd have to do whatever she said. What was she talking about?"  
"It's not something we're really supposed to talk about" Lily replied, somewhat evasively. Kirk noted an instant change in her demeanor. All of a sudden she didn't seem so enthusiastic as she was. _What's this all about?_ "I'm not sure how much she'll be able to tell you. Honestly, there's not as much I can say."

"But you're my _teacher_ " Kirk insisted.

"I'm _one_ of your teachers. And the only reason I'm even _that_ is because the Administration made me promise to keep my personal and professional lives separate. I can't talk to you about school outside of school after this weekend, and we can't _ever_ talk about home at school. Whenever you see me in the hall, as far as you're concerned, I'm Miss Godiva, your art teacher. Understand?"  
"That seems a little bit ridiculous."  
"Kirk, I risked my _job_ just getting you transferred into this school. The Administration takes nepotism very seriously, so _I_ have to take it seriously, whether I think it's stupid or not. Now, is it going to be a mistake to have you at school?"  
Kirk shook his head. "No, of course not. I wasn't trying to get you in trouble or anything."  
"I know. There's just…some things your classmates will have to catch you up on. Okay?"

Kirk nodded. "Okay."

The rest of the meal passed in silence. As did most of the ride back. Kirk wasn't sure what he'd done exactly, but _something_ was bothering Lily. Worse, he didn't even know how to ask.

His grandmother insisted on driving them home. Fortunately, she drove the speed limit. Unfortunately she also felt the need to point out several local landmarks to her grandson, apparently in an effort to fill the silence. Thus Kirk learned all about the Old Amusement Park, Whittaker Field, and the Golden Theater, the town's only cinema.

Kirk thought he'd be safe once they reached the cul de sac. He was wrong.

"Look over there!" his grandmother exclaimed, pointing out her daughter's window. Not sure what else to do, Kirk turned his head. It took him a minute to realize his grandmother wasn't point to something, but some _one_.

"Isn't she one of yours, Lily?" Helena asked, pointing to a girl roughly Kirk's age walking down the sidewalk.

"That's Alexandria Noble, Mom" Lily answered. "She's lived next door to us for years."

"Oh, that's right. Well, she's a nice girl, isn't she? Maybe you can be friends with her, Kirk?"  
"Uh…sure?" Kirk offered. Alexandria Nobel didn't _look_ like an especially nice person; she looked like someone perpetually irritated with the world, if the scowl on her face was any indication.

"She's kind of an odd duck, Kirk" Lily said. "I'd…be careful with that one."

"Noted" Kirk replied, wondering what else he was going to learn about his classmates. So far, it seemed like things would be more complicated than he'd thought.


	4. On the First Day

2\. On the First Day

September 8th

(KIRK)

Mister Robert Light was a tall, serious man who wore thick, serious spectacles, walked with a straight, serious gait, spoke with a calm, serious voice, and frowned at Kirk with a thin, serious mouth. Kirk wasn't sure if his new homeroom teacher disapproved of him, or if that was just his default expression.

"If you have any questions about _anything_ , feel free to address them either toward myself, or Miss Godiva" Light said after introducing himself. Lily ( _Miss Godiva_ Kirk mentally corrected himself) stood behind and to his right, a somewhat less serious expression on her face. _Well, I know which one_ I'll _be going to_ Kirk decided. Despite what Lily had said the previous day, there was something about his new teacher that just seemed…off to Kirk. _Well, Lily said he's under a lot of stress. Maybe I just need to give him a chance._

Light looked down at his watch, half hidden by the white sleeve of his starched button-down shirt. "Well, I think it's time we introduced you to the rest of the class" he said, smiling. Kirk decided he needed a little more practice; his smile looked more pained than anything else. "Right this way."  
The hallway he and _Miss Godiva_ led him down was wide, probably to accommodate the hordes of students moving through it between classes. The walls themselves were lined with lockers, each about a meter and a half tall, small black-faced combination locks affixed to the fronts. _Funny, I didn't get a locker assigned_ Kirk realized, shifting his backpack a little. He knew enough about American high schools from watching TV to realize he should've. _Well, there's probably a reason._

Room number 319 was on the second floor, something which had confused Kirk until he remembered Americans counted the ground floor as the first storey. The door to this particular room was shut, though there was a small Plexiglas window in the side; this, for some unfathomable reason, was covered with what looked like construction paper. Light deftly unlocked the room with a small key from his pocket, then pulled the door in and ushered Kirk inside.

"I'll see you later" Godiva told him, heading off down the hallway. Kirk stood for a moment, watching her walk away, unsure what he supposed to do next.

"Don't be shy" Light said, gesturing toward the classroom. "Everyone's anxious to make your acquaintance."

There was a lectern set up at the front of the class, before a large, white dry-erase board. To the lectern's left sat what Kirk assumed was Mr. Light's desk; behind it was a folding table currently stacked with books. Arrayed in front of the lectern were row after row of desks, each one containing one of his classmates, all of whom were staring at him.

"Class, this is Kirk Abel, our new exchange student. Kirk, why don't you step up and tell us a little about yourself?" Light gestured toward the lectern.

 _This would probably be a bad time to mention I'm rubbish at public speaking_ Kirk thought, taking his place behind the podium. He coughed nervously to clear his throat.

"Uh…Good morning" he managed. "Like Mr. Light said, my name is, uh, Kirk Abel, and…" His eyes settled on the front row. Sitting side by side were Thomas and Sherry, both looking at him. Sherry sent him a smile, and Kirk felt a little better. "Well, as you can tell by my accent, I didn't grow up around here." The class chuckled at that, which put Kirk more at ease. He explained a little bit more about himself, before concluding with "I've already met some of you, but I can't wait to get to know you all. I'm sure this will be, uh, a great year."

"Well, thank you Kirk" Light said. "Now, if you'll find your seat, we'll begin."

Kirk's seat, it turned out, was behind a large, broad shouldered boy named Cody Whitlaw. He gave Kirk a friendly nod as he made his way to his desk, but didn't say anything. Kirk settled into his seat, and then spent the next hour and half learning about American history. It was odd, since a lot of this was stuff he already knew, but from a slightly different perspective. Of course, it was equally strange to _start_ history class in this era; he was used to this subject coming up about midway through the year. _One of the benefits of being a young country. Your history books are a lot smaller_.

An equally unusual thing was the way Light taught. Kirk was used to sitting through a lecture that was just that. But here, there seemed to be a lot of discussion involved as well. Kirk didn't take part himself, not having a clue what was being discussed and furthermore not interested in talking again in front of a bunch of strangers, but he did see it as opportunity to learn the names of several of his classmates.

Thomas Martin seemed to have a lot of respect within the class. He didn't speak often, but when he did, his questions were well reasoned and logical, and the others listened. Likewise, Sherry didn't often say a whole lot, but when she _did_ contribute (usually after Thomas) what she said was usually interesting, and she asked intelligent questions. The same could not be said of Nolan, a boy who sat a couple of seats behind Kirk, and was constantly asking questions with obvious answers. Even Mr. Light seemed exasperated by him.

Their discussion was starting to wind down when a tone sounded. Mr. Light shut the book he'd been teaching from. "Well, we'll discuss this tomorrow. Enjoy your break." And without another word he walked out of the room.

Kirk wasn't really sure what to do now. He wasn't the most outgoing person in the world, and aside from Thomas and Sherry he didn't know any of these people, and even for those two it was only a passing acquaintance. He didn't really want to get up and go inflict himself on people he hardly knew, no matter how friendly they seemed.

 _Well, I've still got Elaine's book_ Kirk thought, reaching for it in his bag. He still didn't have a locker, but his back pack was big enough to hold all his books, and it wasn't like he'd have to walk home very often; his grandmother has said she'd come get him.

Of course, his momentary lack of things to do was alleviated when his classmates descended on him.

"Sorry to interrupt, but now seemed as good a time as any to introduce ourselves" said Thomas, smiling apologetically. _This bloke_ Kirk decided _is unfailingly polite_. At least it seemed genuine.

"Oh, not at all" he replied, setting his book aside.

"Well, you already know Sherry and me" Thomas continued. "And you heard Nolan's questions in class" he added, gesturing to a taller boy standing next to him. Nolan smiled, a huge grin Kirk found at once to be both unintelligent and infectious. He decided he'd like Nolan.

"Nice ta meetcha, Kirk!" he exclaimed, loudly.

"Likewise."  
Sherry nodded to a blonde-haired, slender girl standing next to her. "This is Violet" she explained, before nodding to another girl, who Kirk noticed rather jarringly was dressed like a boy. "And this is Jericho."  
'I keep telling you, Sherry, my name is _Jerry_ " the girl said irritably, except, Kirk realized with a start, she wasn't a girl; she just looked like one. "We don't all call you Sheryl, do we?"

"But Jericho sounds so strong" Sherry insisted. She turned to her new classmate. "What about you, Kirk? Do you have a nickname?"  
Kirk shook his head. "No. In fact, most people at my last school just called me Abel."

"Abel? That's a little…impersonal" said Thomas.

"That's England" Kirk replied.

"Why don't we call you…Abe? How about that?" Nolan asked.

"What's wrong with Kirk?" Sherry asked.

"Well, it's…you know…nerdy?" Nolan paused, a little unsure of himself. He looked at Kirk. "See, there was this show back in the sixties, called-"

"I know what _Star Trek_ is" Kirk replied. "Believe it or not, we _do_ have television in England too, and they _do_ show things besides _Doctor Who_."

"You watch _Doctor Who_?" Violet exclaimed. "Oh my God, I love that show! I cried when they left Rose behind! That was so _sad_!"

"It was…emotional" Kirk agreed, words he could've just as easily used to describe her, he realized.

"I'm sure Kirk didn't come all the way from England to talk about TV" Thomas said evenly. "Why don't you tell us about it? What's it like in the UK?"

"Oh, _yes_!" Violet exclaimed, leaning into what Kirk had, until very recently, determined was his personal space. "England must be _so_ interesting!"  
"Well, it's…uh…definitely different."  
"Does everyone sound like you?" Violet asked, before adding, before he could respond, "I just _love_ your accents! They're so… _cool_! Oh, oh, can you do an American accent?"

"Uh…"

"Slow down, Vi" Nolan said, smiling at the shorter girl. "Stop hitting on the new guy."

"Shut up, Fletch" Violet shot back. "Don't be jealous!"

"Jealous? _Me?_ _Ew…_ "

"Now, now, children, let's behave" Thomas said consolingly. He turned to Kirk. "I'm really sorry. Some of my friends are a little…eccentric."

"Eccentric?" Nolan asked.

"It means weird" Violet told him helpfully.

"I _know_ what it means!" he shouted back.

"Not at all" Kirk replied. "I think it's funny."

Violet and Nolan were still shouting at each other, with the girl/boy, Jericho, trying to calm them down. Sherry took a seat at a vacant desk next to Kirk's, and leaned toward him, smiling with interest.

"What about you, Kirk? Did you leave any friends at your previous school?"

"Not…really" Kirk answered, truthfully. "I wasn't all that close with my classmates. I was at a really competitive private school, and a lot of people saw my dad's job as getting me special privileges."

"Because of his position at the university?" Thomas nodded. "Yes, I can see that. Still, that's not very fair to you, is it?"

"No, it wasn't. Wait, you know about my dad's job?"

Sherry nodded. "That's right. Miss Godiva told us."

"So you know she's-?"

"That's right" said Thomas. "She told Sherry and me right after term started. She told us some other things about you too, just so we'd have a better idea of how to make you feel welcome."

"Does anyone else know?"

Sherry shook her head, her hair bobbing. "Nope, just us. She said she's trying to keep it quiet she's related. Don't worry, your secret's safe with us."  
"What about the other girl who was with you Friday? Isabel. Does she know?"  
Thomas shook his head. "No. I didn't think it was necessary to tell her. Just the three of us."  
"Where is she, anyway? Is she not in this class?"  
Thomas nodded. "No, she'll be in all our classes. But…I guess she's sick." He looked over his shoulder, to where another group of students was clustered. There were three: a tall, broad shouldered boy with dark skin, whose name tag read William Maunalani, a petite girl with shoulder length red hair whose name was apparently Amy Belle, and a third girl, whose back was to them. "Alex, where's Isabel?"  
The girl turned, and Kirk's eyes widened a little. _Alexandria Nobel. Odd duck. Be careful around her._ "Isabel's sick" she replied, simply, her voice flat. "I haven't heard from her since this morning, Thomas, so we won't have our meeting after school. I don't know when she'll be back."

"Thanks" Thomas said, but Alexandria wasn't looking at him anymore. She adjusted her small-framed glasses, then stared fixedly at Kirk. The other two stopped talking to look at him as well.

"You…you live next to my grandparents" Kirk said, after an awkward silence. "My grandmother pointed you out to me Saturday. She said you've lived next door for…a while."

Alexandria blinked. "Oh, that's right; you live with the Godivas, don't you?" She nodded. "Yes. I've lived in that house for most of my life, but your grandparents haven't. They just moved there a few years ago. Before that…" She shook her head, as if clearing something. "Listen, William, Amy, and I get together after school sometimes and study at my house. You're welcome to join us, if you're interested." She smiled a little bit. Kirk felt like she was trying to be friendly, but wasn't quite sure how. He decided to smile back, since it felt like the right thing to do.

"Thanks. I may take you up on that."

"We'll be glad to have you" Alexandria replied, before turning back to her friends. _Well, that was different_.

"So, what were we talking about?" Kirk asked.

"Your old school friends" Thomas replied. "Well, fear not. We won't hold that against you here" he added with a smile. Quiet as he was, Kirk realized there was a lot of self-assurance to his classmate. "Still, I can't imagine what that must've been like, not having any friends."

"Well, we can always fix that!" Sherry said. She smiled at Kirk, a little bit more confidently this time. "We can be your friends!"

Kirk smiled back. He liked these two, he decided. "I'd like that."

"Just as long as your girlfriend doesn't get jealous" Sherry added. Kirk's eyes widened a little. "You've got a girlfriend, at least, right?"  
 _Bloody hell_ Kirk thought. "Um…Why are you asking me that?"

"That's a little… _personal_ , don't you think?" Thomas suggested, his voice a little irritated and…hurt? Kirk wasn't sure what to make of that.

Sherry's face reddened a little. "Sorry, I was just-"

Just then Mr. Light reentered the room. "Alright class, break's over. Please return to your seats." The same tone sounded again, putting a period to his sentence.

"Well, we've gotta go" Thomas said. "We can talk more at lunch."

"Uh…okay" Kirk managed.

It occurred to him no one was making a move to leave the room. _Are we not changing classes?_ he wondered. At his old school, they'd have moved on to another classroom for a different lesson; he'd assumed they did things the same way here. He shrugged inwardly. _Well, I guess, when in Rome…_

(SHERRY) 

_Idiot!_ Sherry screamed at herself. _What kind of moronic question was_ that _?_ she asked herself. _He probably thinks you're a lunatic. No, he's right, you_ are _a lunatic!_

Sherry Link was and had always been a quiet girl. She had her small group of friends, and she didn't much travel outside of that. She hadn't opted to help Isabel more directly with Countermeasures for that very reason: Sherry just didn't like attention. So why was it different with Kirk? Sherry knew she was an intelligent individual, but she couldn't put her finger on it. It couldn't just be the accent (though, like Violet, she _did_ find it attractive). There was just something…different about him. Something…calming.

She remembered the conversation she'd had with Thomas and Isabel on the way back from the hospital two days ago.

"What do you think of him?" Isabel had asked her friends.

"He seems nice enough" Thomas said. "And did you notice the book? That's Lovecraft. It's pretty deep stuff. Not everyone's cup of tea. That tells me he's smart, too, but introverted."

"I like him" Sherry had agreed, maybe a little too readily, not that the others had noticed.

"Well, that's _fine_ , I'm sure he's a nice guy" Isabel had said irritably. "But do you think he'll play along?"

"Why wouldn't he?" Thomas had asked. "He doesn't have any reason not to trust us."

"But it'll be hard to explain things to him" Isabel had insisted. "After all, we can't actually _tell_ him what's going on."

"Yes, that's a serious flaw in the rules" Thomas agreed. "How do you tell someone about the Countermeasures without violating them? They should've thought of that."

"Fine, the plan's flawed, but it's the best we've got, and acknowledging that doesn't do us much good right now anyway." Isabel had turned to Sherry. "What do _you_ think? How should we do this?"  
"I don't know" she'd replied. "I'm not actually part of this, I'm just-"

Isabel's eyes had bored into her. She and Sherry had grown up together; Isabel was one of her best friends…or had been. Now Sherry wasn't so sure. _She's taking this seriously_ she'd realized. _But then, who can blame her, after last year?_

"You _are_ part of this" Isabel had said. "We all are, _including_ him. So you've got to help me out, okay?"

Sherry had nodded, not sure what to do at the time. But now a plan was forming in her head. Now _I've got an idea_ she thought. She looked at the clock above Mr. Light's head, realizing she'd tuned out most of his lecture on grammar. _Well, I suspect I'll survive not knowing how to conjugate_ she admitted. More importantly, there was only half an hour left until lunch. _And I know exactly what to do_ she thought. It put a small smile on her face, which got a confused look from Mr. Light, though it wasn't enough to make him actually stop teaching.

Sherry didn't notice.


	5. The Walking Tour

3\. The Walking Tour

September 8th

(KIRK)

It turned out, by happy coincidence, that Sherry had also brought her lunch today, as had Thomas, so the three of them were able to get a table together in Hoover's gigantic lunch room. Both of his classmates had brought sandwiches, and goggled a little at the intricate salad he'd made himself. Still, neither of them was impolite enough to actually make a comment.

"So, what do you think?" Thomas asked, taking a sip from a carton of milk he'd purchased. "Not too overwhelming, I hope."  
Kirk shook his head. "No, everything's fine. You've all been very friendly" he added, as the students he'd met earlier, Nolan, Jericho, and Violet, came to join them, along with the girl who'd been with Alexandria, Amy. She sat next to Violet and introduced herself, but didn't say much else.

"Well, that was the plan" Sherry explained. "I've lived in this town my entire live; I can't imagine what it'd be like to just pick up and move, especially not halfway across the world."  
Kirk shrugged. "Well, I don't know. It could've been worse. I could've got sent someplace like Japan. At least here you speak the same language as I do."

Jericho nodded agreement. "Yeah, that'd make a difference."

Sherry looked over at him. " _Jericho_ , what happened to Jonah?"

Jericho made a face, but didn't correct her. "He wasn't feeling well, so he headed over to the nurse's station. He said not to worry, though."

Sherry nodded. "Oh. Okay." She looked over at Thomas, sitting next to her. "Do you think we should go check on him?"  
Thomas shook his head. "You know Jonah. He doesn't like people to make a big deal about him. Besides, he said not to worry. As nice a gesture as it'd be, it'd just make him feel uncomfortable." He checked his watch. "Besides, as soon as I'm done here I've got to go talk to Mister Gibbons."

"Oh, that's right, Mister Honor Roll" said Nolan. He looked over at Kirk. "Thomas is only fifteen, but he's doing everything he can to graduate ahead of the rest of us."  
Violet laughed. "Well, considering how long he's been stuck with people like you, Fletch, do you really blame him?" she asked, playfully.

"Yeah…" Nolan started to agree. "Hey, wait a minute!"  
Kirk watched the byplay with amusement. "You guys have all known each other for a while, haven't you?"

Thomas nodded. "Yes. Nolan and I have been next-door neighbors since before kindergarten."

"Yeah, we used to do all sorts of stupid stuff together" Nolan said fondly. "But then last year _this_ guy decided he wanted to be an Honor Student, and now he can't even find the time to improv with me like we used to."

Thomas adjusted his glasses. It was the first time Kirk had seen him uncomfortable. "Well, you know it's nothing personal. I have a path charted for my life, and I can't allow myself to deviate from that."

"But you can't just ignore your friends, either!" Nolan insisted.

Kirk realized he'd touched on a hot button issue, and was about to apologize, when Nolan made it easier. He reached across the table and patted Thomas's arm. "Well, Four Eyes, we'll be stuck together at _least_ until the end of the year. Try to stay strong."  
Thomas smiled at him for that. "I'll do my best." He folded his trash into the clear plastic sandwich bag his lunch had come in. "Well, I'll be off. I'll see you all later?" There were nods. He turned to Kirk. "Just make sure you're back in class no later than fifteen after. All the teachers lock up."  
"Oh, I was gonna show Kirk around the school" Sherry said. Again, Thomas sent her a mildly irritated look.

"But I thought we were both going to do that later?" he asked.

Sherry shrugged. "Well, we've got time now. It's a shame you've got to go do your Honors stuff; otherwise you'd be able to come too."

Thoroughly outmaneuvered, Thomas made a face. "Well, I'll see you in class." He said, walking away.

"A tour?" Nolan asked. "That sounds like fun! When do we leave?" Then he winced when Violet kicked him under the table. "Ow! Hey, that's not very nice!"

Violet sent him a look.

"What?"  
Violet sent him the look again, accompanied by a gesture toward Kirk. Next to Violet, Amy was smiling in amusement, and across from her, Jericho was trying not to laugh.

Nolan's eyes widened a little. " _Oh…_ Right." He looked between Sherry and Kirk. Sherry had reddened again. Now she was staring down at the table. "Well, you kids have fun now" he said.

"Uh…sure" said Sherry lamely. She turned to Kirk. "Well, let's go."

Twenty minutes later, Kirk had seen most of the school. A single multi-storey building, each floor was divided by subject, with science and history at the bottom, math and language at the top, and the various arts scattered between the two middle floors. There was a field house adjacent to the main building, where the school held PE, along with a greenhouse, a gift from a previous alumnus and now used for a class on botany.

"So, if there are all these classrooms, why do we also stay in the same one?" Kirk asked. "Everyone else changes on the tone-"

"Bells" Sherry corrected absently.

"Bells" amended Kirk, "but we don't. Why?"

"You're right" Sherry said. "Most of the classes are filled with students from different homerooms. Most of the time, the homerooms are just a convenient place the staff to take attendance. Nothing really important happens in them. Room 319 is just…different."

"That doesn't answer my question" Kirk persisted. " _Why_ are we different?"  
"It's…complicated" Sherry said evasively. "Has your aunt…has she told you anything?"  
"Well, she's told me lots of things" Kirk replied. "Nothing about this, though. So now I'm asking you."

Sherry made a face. "I'm really not supposed to say…that's part of Isabel's job."

"What? You mean Countermeasures? What _is_ that, anyway?"

"I…I can't talk about it. If I do…Isabel will yell at me."

"She'll _yell at you_?" Kirk asked, incredulous.

Sherry nodded. "Yeah, and Isabel's really scary when she's angry. Trust me, you _don't_ want to see her mad."  
"Isabel smash?" Kirk asked, pitching his voice a little deeper.

That startled a laugh out of Sherry. "Something like that." Then she became serious. "Listen…I don't want to tell you not to ask questions, but some things…they're dangerous to know about, okay? Sometimes they're even dangerous to discuss. Can we drop it…for now, anyway?" she pleaded, her brown eyes a little large behind her glasses. Kirk found it was a hard look for him to say no to.

"Okay…for now. Should I ask Isabel when she gets back?"  
Sherry nodded, clearly relieved. "Yes! By all means, talk to her about it. It's her call what we can say to you anyway. Now…what else do you want to know about?"  
"Well, what does the Service Club do exactly?" Kirk asked. It seemed like a neutral question.

Sherry's eyes brightened a little, and it wasn't just from the change of subject. Kirk made a mental note to talk to Thomas about this later. "The Service Club is a school-wide group. We organize projects, both on campus and off, to better benefit the community" she explained, sounding a little bit like a teacher. "Mostly it's about being good neighbors to each other, but on a school-wide scale. If people know you care about them, they'll feel like they belong, and then…well, it just makes the school a better place."

"What if I knew someone I thought it'd be a good idea to check on?" Kirk asked.

Sherry blinked at him. "Well, we'd do what we could. Is it a student?"  
Kirk nodded. "She is. I met her at the hospital after you guys left. She seemed very sad. She said her best friend died Thursday, and not a single person tried to console her."  
Sherry made a disgusted face at that. "You're kidding" she said. "That's…that's horrible" she added, sympathy heavy in her voice. There was a reason, Kirk suspected, Sherry was in this club in the first place. She genuinely liked people. "I'll bring this to Thomas as soon as I can. Even if she's not in our class, we can still check up on her, and let her know we're there for her. What's her name?"  
"Holly Jordan."

Sherry's eyes widened a little, and she stared at him for a moment, a look of confusion on her face. Then she blinked. " _What_ is her name?" she repeated.

"Holly. Holly Jordan. Why, do you know her?"  
Sherry shook her head furiously. "No. No, I don't know anyone by that name."

"Well, maybe we can check around. There's got to be a school phonebook or something she'd be-"

"No, there's nobody at this school with that name" Sherry replied, a little forcefully.

"Of course there is. I met her Friday night, and she told me she went here. Why would she lie about that? She can't be a figment of my imagination. She's real. I know, I've talked to her. Holly Jordan is real, and she needs help-"

"SHE'S _NOT_ REAL!" Sherry screamed at him. "She's not real, and she _doesn't_ need our help!"

Kirk stared at her in disbelief. Down the hallway, a concerned teacher poked his head out the door, but seeing no obvious signs of trouble, shrugged and went back to whatever he was doing.

Sherry's head was down; her shoulders bunched tightly, her small frame trembling. She was breathing heavily, and she wouldn't meet his eyes.

"Sherry…?" Kirk asked. He reached his hand out toward her shoulder, but as soon as his fingers touched her she flinched away. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"Don't _ever_ say that name again" Sherry said, all kindness gone from her voice, replaced by fear. _No_ Kirk realized _not fear. Terror. What's she scared of?_

"Sherry?"

" _Ever._ Do you understand me?"

"What are you talking about?"

Sherry shook her head, then looked him in the eye. "I…I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you. But…ignorance won't save you, and your ignorance could hurt us all."

"What are you-?"

"Do you remember what Isabel asked, when we visited you?" Sherry asked, before answering her own question. "She asked if you'd do as you were told, without question."

Kirk nodded. "Yeah. What's this all about?"  
"I can't _tell_ you…" Sherry said. "It's not your fault, but we're in a bit of a bind this year. Maybe I can…"She didn't finish that thought, but instead reached down and grabbed Kirk's hand,

"Sherry, what are you-?"

"C'mon, it's not far" Sherry said, her voice still brittle. Kirk shut up and went along. It really wasn't far.

Sherry stopped in front of a large wooden cabinet, which stretched from floor to ceiling. Kirk had seen several of these before: they were mostly full of awards, both sport and academic, but this one was different. For one thing, it had no shelves. Instead, it simply contained framed photographs of students, both official school portraits and what looked like images from various events, along with the sorts of pictures you took when you were out goofing off with your mates.

"Sherry…I don't understand. What is this?"  
Sherry didn't answer immediately. She instead pointed to a plaque at the top of the cabinet. Engraved on the gold surface was a simple message:

5-25-2008

We Will Not Forget You

Kirk looked at Sherry, still confused. "I…What is this?" he asked again.

Sherry sighed. " _This_ …This is what happens when we don't follow the rules."

And then Kirk's eyes widened.

And then he understood.

"Bloody hell" he whispered.


	6. The Art of Deception

Chapter 4: The Art of Deception

September 8th

(KIRK)

Their next class was art, a nice, neutral subject, and one which Kirk personally found extremely enjoyable.

It was also one of the few times the class left room 319. Sherry explained on the way upstairs it was because, as big as their homeroom was, it wasn't big enough to give each student enough space to be fully…creative. Or something.

"It's mostly Miss Godiva's doing" Thomas added, rejoining them after whatever meeting he'd been in. Effortlessly he slid between Kirk and Sherry, not even breaking stride. _What's_ that _about?_ Kirk wondered, but didn't ask.

"Really?" he asked instead.

Thomas nodded. "Yes. She said it'd be good for us to get out of the room once in a while, just so we can get some exercise and pretend…well, it's nice to get out of that room."

 _There it is again!_ Kirk thought. _He almost said something, but stopped himself. Just like Sherry. What's going on here?_ Under other circumstances, Kirk would've found this interesting. If it were happening to a character in a book, it'd be one thing, a problem he could escape by setting the book down and coming back to it when he was ready. Instead, here he was, stuck in the middle of something he didn't understand. And he was getting sick of it.

The art room _was_ bigger than class 319, Kirk realized upon stepping inside. Of course, it also had to be, since it needed to contain enough tables and chairs for 30 teenagers to sit comfortably, while still giving Lil-Miss Godiva space to walk around and observe.

This brought up a complication Kirk hadn't thought of. He was good at art, and more importantly, he _liked_ it, but could he count on his aunt to give him fair marks? He didn't expect Lily to pass him just because he was her nephew, of course, but what if she had to cut the other way; what if she was expected to grade him _especially_ harshly because of their relationship? It wasn't something he'd considered before, and now it was too late to ask her. She'd been unequivocal Saturday.

There was, unfortunately, assigned seating in Art. Fortunately, that meant Kirk was seated with Sherry, along with the boy he kept thinking looked like a girl, Jericho. Thomas was placed at another table with Nolan; instead, their group was rounded out by Silvia Potts, an attractive, talkative young woman who was the type capable of speaking for hours on end without actually saying anything important. Naturally, she disliked art. Kirk, for his part, didn't think he liked her, either.

Their lesson today was on still life drawing, a subject Kirk suspected his aunt loathed. Lily was an avid painter, but she always preferred her work to be a touch…off from the real world. It was like she was used to looking at life and not liking what she saw, so she tried to change it whenever she could.

Each of them was given a wax fruit and a sheet of manila paper, along with simple instructions: Draw the object as you see it. Most of the class had sketching pencils already; Kirk hadn't realized he'd need one.

"Here, I've got more than one" Sherry said, reaching into her pencil case and handing Kirk a spare. "There. Now you can _create_ too."

"Thanks" Kirk replied, taking the pencil, and getting to work.

Silvia tried to engage her tablemates in conversation, but Kirk and Jericho both kept their heads down for the next forty-five minutes, and apparently she found talking to Sherry boring. Kirk, for his part, didn't pay much attention; he liked it quiet while he worked.

"Wow…you're really talented" Jericho told him, after they'd been working for a while. "I mean, you're shading and everything. It looks like a black-and-white picture."

"Thanks" Kirk said, Personally he didn't much care for this effort: his apple looked a little more lopsided than he'd have liked. He leaned over and looked Jericho's. "Wow" he managed.

His drawing and his classmate's were polar opposites. Kirk had drawn his apple more or less as it as. Jericho had taken his own fruit, a lemon in this case, and added a face…a screaming face.

"It's terrible, I know, but it's my style" he said nervously.

"Oh no, I think it's great" Kirk replied. "Reminds me of that painting by Munch."

Jericho's eyes brightened a little. " _The Scream?_ That's _exactly_ what I was going for."

Across the table, Silvia rolled her eyes. "Oh God, not _another_ one" she said in exasperation.

Kirk blinked at her in confusion. "Another what?"  
"Another art enthusiast" Jericho explained. "At least, I assume that's what you are, considering how good at it you seem to be."

"Oh yeah, I love art. It was one thing I didn't care for about my last school. Everything was very college-focused; they didn't give us time for things like this. You're very lucky here."

"What got you interested?" Sherry asked. Her own drawing, of a banana, was sitting ignored in front of her. All her attention was focused on her classmate.

"My aunt" Kirk replied, honestly. "My mum's little sister. I don't get to see her much, but every year she'd send me some of her work. Mostly cartoons, but some more serious things as well. She's really, really talented. One day I hope I'm just as good as she is." Self-consciously, he looked for Miss Godiva, who was currently making her rounds. She was close, and Kirk wondered if she'd heard what he'd just said. If she had, she didn't give an indication.

She _did_ stop to look at Jericho's drawing, though. She shook her head. "This…this isn't what we're doing right now, Jerry. You know that. Impressionism isn't until next unit."

"But you said to draw what I see" Jericho replied. He tapped his paper. "That's what this is. This is the lemon as I see it."

Godiva sighed. "Well, I suppose I can't mark you down for it. This is _Art_ class, after all. Just…try to stick to the lesson next time, okay?" She patted Jericho on the shoulder before moving on. Normally a quiet, somewhat sad-looking boy, a smile spread across Jericho's face wide enough it looked like his head would split in half.

"You like her a lot, don't you?" Kirk asked once their teacher was out of earshot.

Jericho shook his head frantically. "No, of course not-I mean, well, _yeah_ , she's an awesome teacher, I guess." His face was still red, and that gave Kirk the best indication he needed. _So, he's interested in Miss Godiva? That's unexpected._

Sherry chuckled at her friend. "Jericho feels the same way about Miss Godiva you do about your aunt, at least when it comes to art" she said, not a hint of irony in her voice. "She's the one who got him interested in art in the first place."

Across the room, Godiva was staring down at Nolan's drawing. "What's _this_?" she asked.

"That's how I see this orange" Nolan insisted.

"Fletch, oranges don't have arms" Miss Godiva replied.

" _My_ oranges do."

Godiva sighed. "What am I gonna do with you?"

"How did she get you interested in art?" Kirk asked Jericho, curious.  
"Miss Godiva's the head of the Art Club" Jericho explained, forgetting to be angry at Sherry for not using his nickname. "It's really great; we meet every week after school and just…work, you know? Miss Godiva's always there to give feedback and advice, but mostly she just sits back and watches us. She says it's one of her favorite things in the world to do." He paused. "You know, if you're an artist too, you should think about joining as well. It's lots of fun."

Kirk nodded. "I'll think about it. Thanks for the invitation."

Jericho ( _Jerry_ , Kirk corrected himself) shook his head. "Hey, don't mention it" he said. He nodded toward Silvia, who was at this point ignoring her page entirely, instead talking to a girl at another table. "Some people treat this as a blow-off class, but not everybody. And those of who don't should stick together, right?"

Kirk smiled. "Right."

LATER…

They got another break after Art class. According to Kirk's watch, by the time they got back they'd have less than two hours of school left. _So far, not a bad day_ he thought.

Sherry was over in a corner talking to Alexandria and Thomas about who knew what, and Silvia had abandoned them at her earliest opportunity, leaving Kirk alone with Jerry. The other boy was in a corner, having fished a small, hard bound book out of his backpack, which he was studying intensely.

Kirk made his way over, cocking his head a little to read the title. _Masters of Expressionism_ it said on the spine. "Is that what I think it is?"

Jerry looked up from the book and nodded. "Yeah. Miss Godiva gave it to me. She said if I want to paint like the masters, I should try to understand who they were as people. That way I can try to understand how they saw the world the way they saw it, and see if I can see it that way myself." He paused. "Miss Godiva…she's-"

"You guys aren't talking about Miss Godiva, are you?" Both Kirk and Jerry jerked their heads up to see Nolan making his way toward them. "Cut me a slice of that action. I _love_ talking about her."

"We were just-"

"Don't be shy, man. It's okay, we all feel the same way." Nolan turned to Kirk. "What about you? What do _you_ think of Miss Godiva? Doesn't she just have killer style?"

"Well, uh…" Kirk hadn't been this uncomfortable since Sherry had asked him if he had a girlfriend. "She's…"

"I know, right? Isn't she something? Man, why can't _she_ be our homeroom teacher?"  
"What's wrong with Mr. Light?" Kirk asked, trying to change the subject.

" _That_ guy? He's no fun at _all_. Takes things _way_ too seriously. And besides, which would you rather look at all day? That tool, or Godiva?"  
There was a right answer, and a wrong answer to this question, Kirk realized. "Godiva?" he replied, tentatively.

Nolan clapped him on the shoulder. "Ya know what Abe, you're alright!" He paused, and his voice got a little serious. "So, how'd your little tour with Sherry go, anyway?"  
"What do you mean?"  
"Well, are you guys…you know?"  
Kirk looked at him in confusion. "No, I don't."

Nolan shrugged. "Ah, never mind. Well, what did you guys talk about?"

"Well, you know…things. She showed me around the school-"

"I'll bet she did."

Kirk ignored him "and that was really it-Hang on. How well do you guys know people here?"

Nolan and Jerry exchange a look. "Well, I dunno. Pretty well I guess" Nolan said.

Jerry nodded. "Yeah. Pretty well."

"Why?"

"Well, I met someone at the hospital Friday night" Kirk replied. "She said she'd lost her best friend. I wanted to make sure she was okay, but when I suggested it to Sherry, she went mental on me."

"That doesn't sound like Sherry at all" Jerry said.

"I know; it was completely out of nowhere. But you know what the weird part is?"

"What?" Nolan asked.

"I told her the girl's name, and Sherry told me she'd never heard of her, and more than that, she didn't even exist in the first place. Weird, right?"

Nolan and Jerry's eyes had both gone very, very wide.

"She told you _what_ exactly?" Jerry asked, cautiously.

"Said the girl didn't exist. Like she _knew_ beyond a shadow of a doubt there's no such person. But how could she know? She can't know everyone in the entire school, right?"

"What…what was the girl's name?" Jerry asked, nervously. "The girl you met Friday. What did she say her name was?"

"Holly. Holly Jordan."

Jerry's eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his head. Nolan stared at him in shock, his mouth open.

"What's the matter? Do you know her?"

"No" Jerry said quickly, just as Nolan was saying "Never heard of her."  
 _Then why did you act like you'd seen a ghost when I said her name?_ Kirk wondered. "Well, if I wanted to meet this girl, do you have any advice on how I'd go about doing that?"

"Well…" Jerry said, his eyes still wide.

"Uh…" said Nolan, his own eyes drifting over to Thomas, as if willing his friend to save him from whatever mess they'd stepped in.

Just then, the tone ( _bell_ Kirk corrected himself) sounded. Nolan let out a visible sigh of relief. "Sorry Abe, gotta go back to class. Catch ya later!" He hurried off without another word, Jerry right behind him, leaving Kirk standing in the hallway, just as confused as he'd been before.


	7. The Stakes

5\. The Stakes

August 25th

(SHERRY)

"So, what do you think?" Isabel asked. Orientation was over, and most students had already filed out for the day. Alexandria had left with Amy and Violet, saying they were off to do something involving the Broadcast Club. That left Sherry alone with Isabel and Thomas. _The two people in charge of keeping us safe_ she thought.

It was a hard thing to believe. She hadn't thought they'd put her in Room 319; at least they'd put her there with her friends. She couldn't imagine what it'd be like to face this alone.

 _Someone_ will _have to go through this alone, though_ she knew. _At least it's not me_. She hated herself for such a selfish thought, but there it was. At the end of the day, they all had their parts to play. Sherry was just glad hers wasn't the one her friend had volunteered for.

 _Volunteered_. That _never_ happened. Nobody _wanted_ to be in charge of Countermeasures; it was a draft, just like the Other- _Stop it_ Sherry caught herself. She didn't know if thinking about that aspect of Countermeasures was dangerous, but better safe than sorry.

In any case, this was going to be an unusual year. Most of the time, whoever "won" the lottery to become Head was free to choose whoever they wanted as deputies. It was generally considered bad form to refuse that offer; in this case, no sooner had Isabel raised her own hand than Alex had volunteered to assist her. _That_ at least didn't surprise her. She and Isabel were closer, even closer than Sherry and Isabel; she just hoped her friends could handle it.

"I think…I _know_ I trust you guys to do the right thing" Sherry had to say. _Had to? Either I trust her or I don't. And what reason do I have not to?_ "If anyone can keep things together, it's you, Isabel."

Isabel smiled faintly, inclining her head. "Thanks, Sher. And I can count on your help, right?"

It was the questions Sherry was afraid of, but one she couldn't afford to hesitate answering. If Isabel was willing to do more than her fair share, how could she do less?

"Yeah. You've got me. Anything I can do" she replied. "I trust you."

"Good. I'll need all the help I can get." Isabel turned to Thomas. "And I think you _know_ why I asked you to be here."

Thomas Martin paused for a moment, adjusting his glasses. Ever the quiet one, he was especially careful with his words now. Sherry wondered what her fellow club member was thinking. _Well, I suppose we're about to find out_.

"You know where I stand on this whole thing" Thomas replied, his voice calm and measured. "I don't think…well, we can't afford to panic. If I can help keep things under control, I will. You've got me, too."

"I knew I could count on you two." Isabel turned to Sherry. "Don't tell Alex this, but if she hadn't offered-"

Sherry shook her head. "No. I think Alex is better suited to this than I am, anyway. I'm a little bit too…emotional. You don't need that."

"Don't sell yourself short." Isabel put her hand on her friend's shoulder. "You've got a big heart. I _do_ need that, buddy."

"Well, I know you'll listen to me" Sherry replied.

Thomas nodded in agreement. "Yes. I think we can trust you to do the right thing…but just the same, I know you'll hear us out."

Isabel nodded. "Well, yeah." She smiled thinly. "It's gonna be rough, though. For the next few months, I can't afford to be the person I usually am. This is bigger than me. Bigger than all of us. _Everyone_ is riding on this."

Sherry smiled at her friend. "Well, I can't think of a person more suited to the job than you. Your friends trust you, Isabel. Trust yourself."

"Thanks."

September 8th

(SHERRY)

School, unfortunately, couldn't end early enough for her. She _really_ needed advice on this. She'd tried bringing it up with Alex and Thomas, only to learn to her horror Isabel hadn't given them any instructions. More importantly, they were just as concerned about going behind her back as she was.

It wasn't supposed to be this way. The whole reason there were Countermeasures Deputies was to assist the Head in making tough calls, and _act in his or her stead when necessary._ This certainly seemed like the time, yet Thomas wasn't overly concerned, and Alex insisted they needed to wait for Isabel.

 _And where does that leave me?_ Sherry wondered. She suspected she really knew where that was, but it was a place she didn't want to be. _Well, I can't do anything about that_ she decided. _Just gotta make do._

"Well, I'm sure you'll all remember to do your homework tonight. I want pages one-thirty-five to one-thirty-six completed no later than tomorrow afternoon" Mr. Light was explaining. "And remember, there's no reason to miss _any_ of the odd-numbered questions. The answers are right in the back of your book." He closed his own book and set it inside his desk. "Well, that's all I have for you today-" He was interrupted by the sound of the bell. "Have a good afternoon. I hope to see all of you bright and early tomorrow morning."

Sherry packed her books up and headed for the door with the rest of her class. Math was already one of her least favorite subjects, and having it at the end of the day wasn't improving her interests in it at all. _Maybe I can talk to Alex about it_ she thought. _She's good at math. Or Thomas. He's good at_ everything. She could see him up ahead, talking to Nolan and Kirk about something or other. _Well, I need to talk to Thomas anyway. But maybe some other time._ Sherry checked the time on her phone. She had some club stuff to do after school, and she needed to tell Isabel what she'd missed today. It was one of the Service Club's primary functions to check on sick students; doubly important when the student in question was one of your best friends. _Yeah_ Sherry decided. _I'll talk to Thomas tomorrow._

(KIRK)

Kirk didn't know what was going through Sherry's head at that particular moment; in fact, he couldn't even see her. He noticed Thomas was watching something form the corner of his eye, but couldn't tell what it was, and more importantly, had other things to focus on right now.

"Don't sweat it, Abe" Nolan said. "The assessments are nothing to worry about."

Thomas adjusted his glasses. "Maybe not for you, Nolan. _Some_ of us want to succeed after high school, though."  
"Oh come on, man! Live a little!" Nolan said irritably. "There's more to life than good grades!" He looked over at Kirk. "C'mon Abe, help me out here."

"Uh…"

"See, you agree, don't you?"

"Well…"

Nolan snapped his fingers. "If you won't listen to me, at least listen to Abe! I mean, this guy's pretty smart too, right? Go on, tell him."

"I don't-"

"Told you, didn't I?" Nolan said. "Abe's the man, right?"  
Kirk had no idea if he was the man or not. He _was_ beginning to wonder if he could stop Nolan from calling him that. Thomas noticed his discomfort.

"You know, if he's upsetting you, you _can_ hit him. I won't tell anyone."  
Kirk had to chuckle at that. "Thanks, but I don't think that'll be necessary."

"Oh, come on Abe! I thought we were cool! I thought we were-"

"If we're relying on _your_ thinking, we're all in trouble" said Violet, joining their discussion, Amy in tow.

"Oh, now who asked you?" Nolan demanded.

"Well, Fletch, you're kind of shouting. It's hard not to overhear, right Amy?"

Amy nodded. "Yeah. You're a little loud, Nolan."

Nolan threw his hands in the air. "Everybody's a critic."

Violet patted him on the shoulder. "It's okay, Fletch. We still love you."

Nolan stopped and squinted at her. "Who's _we_?"

Violet's face reddened a little. "Uh…"

"You're wasting your time, Violet" Thomas said. "Nolan's got his eyes on somebody else, anyway." He smiled evilly.

Violet stammered, but Nolan went right over the top of her, his face getting even redder. He pointed an angry finger at his friend's face. "Screw _you_ , man!" He turned to the others. "Don't listen to anything this guy says, he's nuts!"

"Oh, I think he doth protest too much" Amy said, smiling. It was the longest sentence Kirk had heard out of her.

"What are you talking about?" Nolan demanded. "What does that even mean?"

"It's Shakespeare, you twit" Thomas said. "Well, come on Nolan, the cat's out of the bag now. Aren't you going to share with us who your crush is?"  
Nolan shook his head. "I hate you all" he said in resignation.

Kirk was watching the entire exchange when he felt something vibrating in his pocket. Confused, he pulled out his mobile.

"You've got a cell phone?" Nolan exclaimed.

"Fletch, they have technology in England too."

"Shut up, Vi."

Kirk looked at the number. It wasn't one he recognized. "Hello?"  
"Kirk, is that you?" asked a familiar voice on the other end of the line.

"Elaine?"

"That's right, Horror-Boy. How's it going?"

 _Great, another nickname_ Kirk thought. _I'm going to have to start a book for these stupid things_. "Pretty good. Just got out of school."

"That's good. No more problems with your lungs?"

Kirk winced. He didn't like being the object of other people's concern. Still, she didn't mean anything by it. "Nope. I'm good." He paused. "Hey, how'd you get this number?"  
There was a pause on the other end of the line. "I…kinda stole it from your phone while you were sleeping."

"You what?"

"Well, I figured you wouldn't mind." Elaine chuckled. "Well, now you've got my number too. Give me a ring some time."

"I will. And I'll bring your book back as soon as I'm finished with it."

"Take your time, Kirk. I'm not going anywhere. _Cao._ " The line went dead.

Kirk put the mobile back in his pocket. Nolan shook his head at him.

"Wow, you must roam like a mother."

Kirk shook his head. "No, my dad set it up so I'm on my aunt's plan while I'm over here."

"Well, in that case, why don't you give me your number?" Violet asked. "Then we can be phone buddies!"

"Oh yeah, me too!" Nolan exclaimed.

Thomas sighed. "I'm sorry, Kirk."

Kirk shook his head. "No, it's fine." A few minutes later, he had new contacts for Nolan Fletcher, Violet Fields, and Thomas Martin in his mobile. He asked Amy if she wanted it as well, but she shook her head.

"Sorry. Nothing personal _but…_ I don't talk much."

Violet patted her friend on the shoulder. "What you don't understand about Amy is she's that rarest of things: a shy actress."

Kirk blinked at her. "You act?"

His classmate nodded. "Yeah, I do a bit."

She didn't seem willing to go further than that, so Violet elaborated. "Amy and I are in the broadcast club; you can see us on the school TV show in the mornings. And she's in the Drama club with me, Sylvia, and Isabel Castille. She wasn't here today, but-"

"I've already met her" Kirk replied. "She came and visited me in the hospital with Thomas and Sherry. She's the one who said she's in charge of Countermeasures, right?" he asked Thomas, who nodded slowly. "What are those, anyway? Some kind of disaster response group?"

"Kinda…" Violet said nervously. _What's the deal with_ this _?_ Kirk wondered. Everyone always got defensive when he brought this up.

"Say, Kirk, who was that on the phone just now?" Nolan asked. Violet hit him. "Hey! What was that for?"

"Nosy."

"No, it's fine. That was…Elaine."

"Elaine?" Violet asked. "I thought you said you didn't have a girlfriend."  
"I…don't. She's somebody I met at the hospital."

"Like another patient?" Violet asked.

"Actually, she's…a nurse."  
"Oh-ho!" Nolan exclaimed. " _Helloo_ , Nurse!"

"What's that supposed to mean?"  
Thomas shook his head. "Oh, don't worry about it. Nolan doesn't know what it means, either."

Violet looked down at her phone. "Crap. Well, we've gotta run, boys. See ya later!"

"Don't have too much fun" Nolan suggested.

"Oh, I'll try to keep her in line" Amy called back as the two girls hurried away.

"Well, I've gotta go too" Thomas said. He turned to Nolan. "And shouldn't you be getting to practice?"

"Practice?"

Thomas nodded. "Yeah, Nolan's on the soccer team."

"Soccer-? Oh, you mean football."

Nolan shook his head. "Do I look like a football player to you, Abe? Jeez, I dunno how they do it in England, but here in the States-"

"Association Football, genius" Thomas said. "That's where soccer comes from. How do you not know this?"

"How do _you_?"

"I read."

"There's your answer."

Thomas shook his head, then turned to Kirk. "Well, have a good one. See you tomorrow?"

Kirk nodded. "Yeah."

Kirk watched his new friends walk off down the hall together, then thought back to his tour of the school with Sherry as he headed toward a staircase. If he remembered correctly, the art rooms should be down _this way_.

Most of the classrooms were already closed, Kirk noticed; it didn't look like there were any last period art classes. But there was still one class with the lights on. It seemed as good a place as any to start.

Kirk poked his head through the door. "Is this the Art Cl-Holly?" His eyes widened when he saw the only other person in the room.

She looked up at him curiously, setting aside her pad.. "So, you can see me?" she asked, her voice calm. "That's interesting."

"Well, yes, I can see you. Why wouldn't I?"

Holly shook her head, her hair moving like a wave to either side of her face. "Never mind. You'll find out soon enough. So…what brings you up here?"

"I'm looking for the Art Club. Jerry, one of my classmates, told me about it. Are you a member?"  
Holly nodded. "That's right…but if you join, then I won't be able to attend."

"What? Why not?" Kirk asked. "It's not something I've done, is it?"  
"No…it's just too complicated. One classmate is difficult enough. Two would be…unmanageable."

"Unmanageable? What do you mean?"

Holly didn't answer. Instead she picked up her pad, brushed her hair behind her ear, and resumed drawing. Kirk gasped. A piece of gauze was affixed by latex straps over her left eye.

"Your eye!" he exclaimed. "What happened to it?"

"You should know better than to ask someone a question like that" she said, not looking up. "Besides, the answer itself should be obvious. I'm not a pirate; why else do people wear eye patches?"

 _Oh. Right._ "Hang on. You said you were a classmate with Jerry and I. But…I didn't see you today. Are you in Class three-nineteen?"

Holly didn't look at him. "I'm not usually in class. Sometimes I go, and sometimes I don't."

"Why not? And why would Jerry tell me he'd never heard of you? And Sherry. I suggested she and Thomas visit you after what you told me about your friend, and she got…scared. Why would she-?"

Holly set her pad down again. "You're asking a lot of questions, Kirk. I don't know about England, but in America, we call that an interrogation. I don't _like_ it. I want it to stop."

"Sorry."

Holly sighed. "It's okay. It's not really your fault. I suppose the others will explain things to you in the next few days, if they haven't already. We probably won't see each other again."

"What do you mean?"  
Holly shook her head. "It's not for me to say. The others will explain it better than me. Just don't worry, I don't mind."

"Don't mind _what_?"

"I already said I don't want to talk about it" Holly replied. "How much clearer can I make this to you?"

"Sorry" Kirk said again.

"Don't worry about it." She looked at the clock on the wall. "Well, it's getting late. I have to head home soon. I'll finish this later" she added, sliding her pad into a backpack which almost looked too big for her. With practiced ease she slid the bag onto her shoulders, then headed for the door.

"Are you walking home?" Holly started to answer angrily, but Kirk held up his hand. "What I meant was, I will be too today. Maybe we can go together?"

Holly shook her head. "I…I don't think that'd be a good idea. If anything, you should stay away from me. Getting close to me…it wouldn't be wise."

"What are you talking about? What's wrong with you?"

"Thanks for checking up on me, and trying to get your friends to do the same, but…" Holly seemed to think her words through carefully. "I wouldn't do it again, if I were you." She walked away, heading down the hall without looking back.

"Holly!" Kirk called after her. "What's going on? What are you talking about?"

She stopped, then turned and looked at him over her shoulder. "You should be careful, Kirk. It…it may have already started."

"It?" Kirk repeated. "What do you mean?"

"Goodbye, Kirk. I'll see you…but you won't see me." Then she rounded the corner and was gone.

Kirk stood there for a moment, trying to reason out just what the hell she'd meant. Curiosity got the better of him, however, and he hurried down the hall after her. "Holly!" he shouted, rounding the corner…only to come to a sudden stop.

The hallway was empty.


	8. A Phone Call Away

6\. A Phone Call Away

September 8th

(SHERRY)

It was one of those instances where Sherry's nature dovetailed perfectly with her duties as a member of the Service Club. Isabel was out sick, but had already checked out her books for the year, meaning all she needed were the actual assignments. Fortunately, it was still early enough in the year they weren't getting much.

"And chapter five for history" she concluded.

"All of it?" Isabel asked over the phone.

" _All_ of it."

"Great…" her friend replied on the other end. Isabel _despised_ history. Sherry had never figured out why; it was one of her _favorite_ subjects.

"So, anything interesting happen?"

The question caught Sherry by surprise, and in her surprise, she used an automatic response. "No."

"Oh, that's good" Isabel said. "Well, I should be fine to come back to school tomorrow. See ya then!" Isabel disconnected.

Sherry stared at the phone for a few seconds. _What did I just do?_ she asked herself. Honestly, she had no idea. Just as honestly, she suspected she'd regret this conversation. She just didn't know why.

She thought about calling Isabel back…but discarded that notion. After all, what was the worst thing that could happen?

(KIRK)

"So, how'd it go?" Kenneth Abel asked, without preamble.

"Dad?" Kirk asked from his end of the phone. "Is everything okay?"

"Of course!" his father replied. "I'm just calling to check up on you after your first day of American school. I meant to call you in the morning, but these damn Romanian time zones… So, _how'd it go_?"

 _Well, a nurse is stalking me, there's a cute brunette girl I think has a crush on me, I've already made some really good, if a little odd friends, and there's another girl who may or may not even be real, meaning I'm losing my mind._ "Good."

"Great! I'm glad to hear it!" Kenneth replied. "Listen…I heard about your lung. Two times in as many months may seem awful, but don't worry. It'll all be over soon."

"How do you know?"

"Because I had the same problem when I was your age, Kirk. I was hoping your mum's genes would cancel it out, but maybe you being born prematurely nullified it." He was quiet for a moment. "Anyway, mine stopped giving me grief when I was about sixteen, so you've not got much longer to worry, and in any case, the hospitals in that town are pretty good, so you're in safe hands."

"How come you never told me about this before?" Kirk asked.

There was another pause. "Honestly? Because, like I said, I was hoping it wouldn't get you too. Not being able to breathe isn't very fun, is it?" There was another pause, and Kirk imagined he could hear his father shaking his head on the other end of the call. "Besides, I didn't want anyone telling you it was hereditary or something like that. I know how much you hate being coddled."

"Well… _thanks_ , Dad" Kirk replied, meaning it. He was used to his father being at best unintentionally insensitive; the idea of him doing something like this for him on purpose was new, and welcome.

"Hey, don't mention it. Well, I've gotta get back to work. An anthropologist's work is never done! Take care, son!" The line went dead.

Kirk stared down at his phone for a minute. It was, he decided, a strange way to end an odd, if not at least exciting, day.


	9. Back to Work

Part 2:  
Ulterior Motives

Chapter 7: Back to Work

September 9th

(ISABEL)

"Isabel! _Despierta, querida!_ "

The sound of her mother's voice was enough to make Isabel Castille try to bury her head deeper into her pillows. She didn't know what time it was. She _did_ know her mother was yelling at her to get up, but that was the last thing she wanted to do. No, she just wanted to stay here, where it was warm and comfortable and-

"Isabel!"

It wasn't meant to be. Isabel pounded her pillow.

" _Estoy hasta, la madre!_ " she shouted back, allowing some of her irritation to show. She usually called her mom "Mom." She only became "mother" when she was vexed. Of course…Isabel was starting to feel like she was often vexed. It didn't seem like it used to be that way. She wondered what had changed…but not for long. There was too much else to do.

"Are you dressed yet?" her mother, Noel, called from downstairs. _There's no pleasing this woman_ Isabel thought, her brain still hazy from having just woken up.

"Not _yet_ Mom!" she shouted back, again in English. While the Castilles spoke Spanish at home from time to time, they still primarily communicated in English. "We're Americans" her father, Alfonso, was fond of saying. "We have to talk like Americans."

"Hurry up!" her mother shouted back. "Breakfast is almost ready!"

 _That_ was enough to hurry Isabel along. Not an especially Mexican way to start the morning, but her mother made the best pancakes in the State as far as Isabel was concerned.

There were, of course, some important decisions to make beforehand, though. Like deciding what she was going to wear to school. Until a few years ago, Isabel hadn't been too concerned by what she wore. For one thing, her mother said she had a natural fashion sense. For another…it just hadn't been that big a deal. Isabel more or less picked clothing at random and it worked.

 _Something girly today_ Isabel decided. There was a nice, pinkish red dress she was especially partial to. _Yeah, this,_ and _this…perfect_.

And so the head of Countermeasures was ready for school.

(KIRK)

Breakfast with the Godivas was an interesting affair. Helena Godiva, Kirk's grandmother, had some bizarre aversion toward meat in the morning. He had no idea why, and further had no idea how to ask. He suspected it'd just become one of those things he'd have to deal with living here.

It wasn't all that bad, of course. The Godivas were big believers in fruit, so there were oranges, apples, and bananas to choose from. Lily had picked an apple, something Kirk _really_ wanted to remark about, but couldn't. He picked a banana. It was quick and easy.

It was a lot simpler than breakfast with his dad. Kenneth Abel was a big believer in big breakfasts, so at home he was used to starting off with a muffin (which for some unfathomable reason they insisted on calling "biscuits" here), bangers (which had the bland but at least logical name "sausage"), and bacon, which may or may not have been accompanied by rashers (which they called "hash browns" here, a name he found a bit more appetizing). Mainly, Kirk liked it because it was the one meal his dad was accomplished at cooking.

"So, what's in store for you today, Lily?" her mother asked.

Lily was in the process of cutting up her apple. She didn't look up, focusing instead on eviscerating her fruit. "Well, you know, same…stuff, different day. Mainly I'm looking forward to getting home tonight. Then I can actually get some _real_ work done… _there_ " she added, setting down her knife having successfully pared her fruit. The cuts weren't especially neat, but then again, his aunt wasn't an especially precise person.

"What about you, Kirk?" his grandmother asked next. "Anything exciting in store for you?"  
Kirk shook his head. "No, not that I know of."

"How do you like American school?"  
Kirk shrugged. "Oh, I like it well enough, but I don't think I'm very good at it."

Lily looked at him in puzzlement. "What makes you say that?"

"Well…they want me to come back again today." It was the kind of joke his dad would've told. Normally it would've elicited a groan from Kirk, but he found it was better to give terrible humor than it was to receive it.

Helena Godiva looked mildly perplexed by this train of logic. Lily snorted. "What're we gonna do with you?"

"I don't understand" his grandmother said, still puzzled. "Of course they want you to go back. That's how school-"

"Don't worry about it, Mom" Lily said. She leaned over and kissed her mother, then turned to her nephew. "See ya later, Kirk" she said with a smile.

Kirk returned it. "You too!"

And another day began in another household.

(ISABEL)

It was, Isabel decided, rather like one those Japanese companies you saw on TV from time to time. The boss shows up for work, and everyone's waiting for him with a smile on their face. _Well, waiting for_ her _in this case_ Isabel decided.

"Good morning, Isabel" said Thomas, smiling at her.

"Thomas" she replied with a smile. "Good morning."

"You look nice today" said Alex. "That dress looks really good on you."

"Thank you" Isabel replied, smiling at her friend. She _did_ like this dress, truth be told. She _liked_ to feel like a girl, every now and then. Not so for Alex; _she_ always seemed to dress in such a way as to be as unflattering as possible. Isabel didn't understand it, but that was Alex. _Poor, plain Alex_ Isabel thought, shaking her head. _Content to fade into the background_.

"Izzy!" someone else shouted. Isabel looked to see Violet and Amy walking toward her and her friends, Violet waving excitedly. "I'm so glad you're feeling better!"

"Thanks" said Isabel, looking down at her shorter classmate. "Me too."

Her illness had come as a complete surprise, and that had been worrying enough as it was. After all, what if she was sick because of _It_? She'd called Thomas the night before to float that suggestion, but he'd just chuckled after she'd described her symptoms.

"It's _nerves_ , Isabel. You're worried. That's all it is."

Well, she certainly felt better now, Isabel decided, and it was nice to bask in the glow of her friends' love. She was glad she had people like this to count on…

August 8th

(ISABEL)

Isabel stared at the letter, her hands trembling. "No..." she whispered.

Noel Castille rounded the corner and found her daughter standing in the doorway. " _Que te pasa, me querida?_ " she asked.

Isabel didn't respond. She _couldn't_. Instead, she simply handed the letter to her mother, not even looking at her.

Noel scanned the letter. "This is your schedule for this year, _mi amore_. What's the pro- _Madre de dios!_ " she exclaimed, when she reached the part causing her daughter so much grief. "Alfonso!"

The urgency in his wife's voice brought Isabel's father running. "Noel, what's the matter?" he asked, looking between his wife and his daughter. "Is everything okay?"

"Look!" Noel exclaimed, thrusting the letter in his face.

Alfonso had to scan the page for a few seconds before he saw it, but when he did, Isabel saw her father's eyes widen behind his glasses.

"No…" he said quietly, unconsciously echoing his daughter's own reaction. "Not again…"

September 9th

(ISABEL)

Isabel shook her head. This nightmare had begun over a month ago, but so far, things had gone according to plan

 _And if we're lucky, things will stay that way_.

(KIRK)

For obvious reasons Lily couldn't give Kirk a ride to or from school. Kirk thought it was a little absurd: Thomas and Sherry already _knew_ she was his aunt, and he lived next door to that Alexandria girl, so there was no telling how long it'd take _her_ to put two and two together, if she hadn't already, but still, appearances had to be kept up.

His grandmother had offered to give him a ride in the Godiva family station wagon, but Kirk had declined. It was a nice day, it wasn't far, and he felt like walking to school.

That meant he got to school a good half hour before class actually started. With that information in mind, Kirk decided he could play around a little with his departure time. He was just glad the doors were…

"What's this?" he wondered aloud, staring at the door. Try as he might, he couldn't get the thing to budge. _Maybe I'm not supposed to be here this early after all_.

"Hey, newbie, scan your badge" said a voice behind him.

Turning, Kirk saw a boy about his own age, with evenly cut dirty-blond hair and a self-assured look on his face. There was something familiar about this one, but he couldn't quiet place it.

"I'm sorry?" Kirk asked, blinking at him in confusion.

"Your _badge_ , newbie" the other boy said in exasperation. He pulled a small plastic card from his own pocket and waved it in front of a small plastic box next to the door. There was a click, and the other boy pulled the door open.

"Oh. Thanks" Kirk said, starting to follow the boy inside.

The other boy held up his hand. "Uh-uh, newbie, you gotta scan in too. Otherwise, security will come and get you."

"What? Why?"  
The boy rolled his eyes. "Jesus, don't you watch the news? Didn't you hear about what happened here last year?"

Kirk was now thoroughly confused. "No?"  
"Well, just swipe your badge. It's not hard, newbie."

Kirk did as instructed, then followed the other boy into the building. "Thanks for clearing that up for me. I'm-"

"Kirk Abel, the limey foreign exchange student" the other boy replied. "I know, we're in the same homeroom."  
"What's your name?" Kirk asked, trying to be friendly, but finding himself fighting an uphill battle.

"Lincoln" the other boy replied. "Now go on, find someplace else to be. I've got…things I need to get done." Without another word, Lincoln turned and walked off down the corridor.

Kirk stared after him. "That was…weird" he muttered, before heading in the opposite direction.

Kirk had always had a good memory; as a result, he'd more or less memorized the school on his tour with Sherry the previous day. So… _Up two flights of stairs, down the hallway, hang a right, past the water fountain,_ and… _Here_ Kirk thought, stepping into the library.

This particular room was in reality several, spread across much of the third floor. Each section was accorded its own alcove, and there were tables and chairs scattered among the shelves, apparently for students to grab a book and immediately start reading it. Kirk decided he liked this room.

And sitting at one such table was…

"Nice to see a friendly face" Kirk said, setting his backpack down next to Holly's. "Do you mind?"  
Holly looked at him in genuine confusion, her sketch book open in front of her. She seemed to be drawing some sort of doll. "What are you doing?"

"Well, I'm being polite and asking before I just sit down. I don't know about in America, but in England we call that common courtesy."

Holly blinked at him, her one visible eye fixed on him, brown and liquid, her eye patch obscured by her hair. "Well, _yes_ , that's correct. But…why here? Why me?"  
"We're classmates, aren't we? I'm just trying to get to know you better."

"But are you _sure_ you want to be doing that?" Holly asked.

Kirk didn't know how to respond to that. "Would I be here if I weren't?" he asked.

Holly seemed to accept that at face value. "Fair enough. But don't say I didn't try."

"Try what, Holly?"

"I told you yesterday, getting to know me wouldn't be a good idea. For me _or_ for you."

"What are you-?" Kirk's question was interrupted by the arrival of a third student, a small girl with dark hair she wore in two braids down either side of her head, her hair parted precisely down the middle; her appearance, much like Holly's, put Kirk immediately in mind of a doll, albeit a doll of a different kind. She looked from Holly to Kirk and back again through thick, oval-rimmed glasses.

"Holly and…Kirk, isn't it?" the girl asked.

Kirk nodded. "Yes, that's right, uh-"

The new girl blinked. "Oh. Right, how rude of me. Carly. Carly Tachibana." She held out her hand. "Pleased to meet you…officially, that is."

"What do you mean-?"

"Carly's in Room three-nineteen as well" Holly explained. "She sits in the back, next to Nolan Fletcher."

Carly nodded. "That's right. I heard your introduction yesterday. You're not a very confident speaker, if you don't mind me saying so." Kirk didn't read any malice behind that; it was a statement of a fact. She wasn't trying to be rude… she was just doing it accidently

"You didn't say anything then" Kirk replied. "At least, I don't remember you…"

"Carly usually has her nose in a book" Holly explained, smiling faintly. "And she gets two periods a day here in the library, the lucky duckling."

 _Lucky…duckling?_ Kirk wondered, but didn't question Holly's turn of phrase.

"Oh, well, I like it here" Carly replied, somewhat embarrassed. "It's quiet, and calm. Just me and the books. Not many people come in here. Not after last year, anyway…" She paused. "I thought I saw you reading yesterday. What kind of books do you like?" she asked.

"I'm a big horror guy. King, Matheson, Poe. You know, the big ones. And a friend just started me on Lovecraft. What about you?"

Carly nodded. "I see. Me, I'm more into fantasy and…erm, romances…" Her face reddened a little. "Anyway, since you're a reader too, you oughta join me and my friend Trip. We have a book club that meets here Wednesday afternoons. It's not an official club, but…it's a lot of fun, I promise." She smiled faintly.

"Sounds interesting. I may check it out" Kirk allowed, realizing this was the third such invitation he'd gotten in two days and class hadn't even started yet. _These people are extremely friendly_ he thought, _except when it comes to this Countermeasures business…or last year._

Just then one of the doors at the opposite end of the library slammed loudly shut. All three of them whirled around to see what had happened. Kirk thought he caught a glimpse of something red darting past one of the windows.

"What was _that_?" Kirk asked.

The two girls exchanged a worried look.

"You should go" Holly said.

"What?"

"I _told_ you it was a bad idea to talk to me" Holly said. "Now I'm telling you to leave."

Carly looked at the other girl. "Holly…"

Holly looked at her. "You know the rules. He can't be here."

Carly seemed to think about it, then sighed in resignation. "You're right." She turned to Kirk. "Sorry, but I have to ask you to leave. The library's not open this early."

"But you're both-"

" _Please leave_ " Carly said, firmly.

More confused than ever, Kirk gathered his things and left.

(ISABEL)

 _Wonderful, absolutely_ wonderful _!_ Isabel raged at herself. _Things can't have gotten out of hand this quickly, can they?_

She'd gone to the library to grab a supplement for history (which had put her in an already foul mood), only to step inside and find Kirk talking to Carly and- _Whoa, Castille, let's step back off that ledge._

 _Relax_ she told herself, heading for class, making her way down the hallway as the bell began to chime. _We can fix this. All I have to do is sit him down and explain things…But how? Thomas said it himself. You can't explain Countermeasures without_ breaking _Countermeasures. But there's_ gotta _be a way…_

On the plus side, Isabel knew she had all day to worry at the problem. She suspected she'd need it.


	10. A Walk in the Park

Chapter 8: A Walk in the Park

August 10th

(ISABEL)

They'd been calling it the Old Amusement Park for as long as anyone could remember. Isabel had yet to learn why; it wasn't as if there was a _New_ Amusement Park or anything. It was just…one of those things.

Sherry had, at first, been a little nervous about the whole idea. "I mean, there are…rides, you know?" she'd pointed out, timidly. "Those…break."

Isabel put her hand on her friend's shoulder. "School hasn't officially started yet, so It hasn't started either. We'll be fine. I promise."

Sherry smiled. "Thanks."

She'd gotten her letter Thursday as well, confirming they were both in Class 319. Alex, it turned out, had gotten _hers_ the day before…and hadn't said anything about it.

"Why would you keep that from us?" Sherry had asked, after they'd had a few minutes to discuss things on the other side of the Park's front gate.

"Well…it didn't seem worth mentioning" Alex replied, shrugging. "Either you two would be there with me, or you wouldn't. Talking about it wouldn't change that, would it?"

"But we're your _friends_ " Sherry insisted.

"And I know I'd worry about you two unnecessarily if you were in three-nineteen and I wasn't. So, I figured I'd just spare you both the trouble. Besides, we're all _three_ here, so why worry about it?"

Isabel had to admit, Alex's logic train was sound…but then again, they usually were. What bothered her was Alex hadn't said anything to _either_ of them. Her not telling Sherry wasn't _that_ unusual; she and Alex were only friends because they both had Isabel in common. But Alex told Isabel _everything_. _If she's keeping secrets from me now…_

 _Well, nothing for it_ Isabel decided. She hooked her arms through those of her friends. "Oh, why are we worrying about this now? It's a beautiful day. Let's go have fun!" she exclaimed, leading her friends into the Park.

Still, a small part of her mind kept wondering:

 _Is this the last time we'll all be happy together?_

September 9th

(KIRK)

Getting all his homework done the night before hadn't been all that great a chore. Most of it had been reading, and that was something Kirk enjoyed doing on his own anyway. The little math work he'd had was easy as well. He didn't know if he'd need to take Alexandria up on her offer or not; if anything, maybe she and her friends would need _his_ help.

He hadn't gotten a chance to really look around the classroom yesterday, so in the few minutes before class started, he decided he'd take advantage of his free time and rectify that.

The first thing he learned was why he hadn't been assigned a locker; none of his classmates had one either. Instead, there were small shelves attached to the bottoms of their desks, most of which held his classmate's books. That seemed like a good idea to Kirk; it wasn't fun carrying all of them to school every day, after all.

Something else occurred to him too, though. The desks in the room were set up in a grid: five across and six deep…except the last row, which had a seventh desk. It made sense when Kirk thought about it: clearly they'd already had this room full to capacity when he'd joined, so they'd had to bring in an extra desk…except why wasn't _he_ in that seat? Kirk took a step closer, in order to learn the identity of the classmate he'd displaced.

The extra desk was…different from the others, he learned immediately. It was older, for one thing…a _lot_ older, its surface cracked and worn, the metal pieces rusty. Kirk put his hand on the desk and it actually _wobbled_. That meant whoever sat here was fairly small…someone built like Violet or Carly…or Holly.

Kirk felt something strange brush against his finger tips. The entire surface of the desk was as scarred and pitted as the crust of the Moon, but…there was a certain uniformity to this particular spot...Inspiration striking him, Kirk pulled a sheet of unlined paper and the sketching pencil Sherry had given him from his backpack, then set to work, rubbing the graphite tip over the page, the pencil catching the groves and making it easier for him to read them. Soon he had a word: **The**.

 _That's helpful_ Kirk thought, but kept at it. There were more letters to either side, and Kirk found those, filling them in, until at last his rubbing was complete. Of course, the message he'd just uncovered didn't make a whole lot of sense to him anyway…

"Who is the Dead One?" he read aloud. "What does _that_ mean?"  
"What are you doing?"

Startled, Kirk whirled around to find he wasn't alone in the classroom anymore. It was his neighbor, Alexandria, and she looked just as surprised to find him here as he was to find her.

"I was…uh…looking at this desk" Kirk stammered, not sure what he had to be nervous about. "You know, you have some very strange graffiti here."

Alexandria sat her own bag down at her desk, then looked at him quizzically. "What do you mean?" she asked, cocking her eyes over her glasses.

"Here, take a look" Kirk said, holding it out for her. "Maybe it'll mean more to you than it does to me."

His classmate took the page and scanned it quickly, squinting a little and looking at it over the rims of her glasses. _So, you're nearsighted_ Kirk realized. _Interesting_.

"What's it mean?" he asked, when she didn't say anything.

Alexandria pursed her lips and scowled at the paper, like she found something about it distasteful. "It's…nothing. Nothing for you to worry about, anyway." Without asking, she wadded the page up and tossed it in the trashcan at the back of the room.

"So, I told you, now maybe you can tell me: what are _you_ doing here?"  
"I'm always here this early" Alexandria replied, unzipping her own backpack and rummaging through it. "It's part of the Broadcast Club. We've got to get everything together in time for school to start. Most of what we do is taped _but_ there are a few things we handle live."

"Broadcast Club?"

Alexandria nodded. "Yeah. We're sort of like the school news channel. We go around and interview students, record what's going on, that sort of thing." She removed a small, but complicated-looking camcorder from her bag, along with a small cloth CD case. "Well, not to be rude, but I've got to go find my crew."  
"Your…crew?" Kirk asked. "You don't seem like the type to have a posse."

Alexandria snorted. "Smartass. I have to admit, I'm a fan of British humor…no, by crew, I mean that literally. The people I work with every morning. In fact, you know two of them already. Violet Fields and Amy Belle."

Kirk nodded. "That's right. I think Violet said something about that yesterday afternoon."

"Well, knowing Vi like you clearly do, you'll understand why I have to go. She…you've got to keep an eye on that one" Alexandria confided. "Otherwise she'll wander off and never be seen again…and like as not, she'll drag poor Amy off with her."

"You don't seem terribly fond of her" Kirk said.

Alexandria blinked at him. "Did I give that impression? Well, I didn't mean to. I really _do_ like them both…actors and directors don't always get along, though." She looked at the clock hanging over Mr. Light's desk. "Well, I have to go. I suppose I'll see you at some point today." She headed for the door, then turned. "And Kirk…I wouldn't let anyone else catch you messing around with that desk. Okay?"

"Why not?" Kirk asked, puzzled.

"They…might not be as charitable about it as I am." Without another word, she left the room, leaving a thoroughly befuddled Kirk behind.

(ISABEL)

Isabel found Thomas, Sherry, and Nolan Fletcher standing together in the hallway. Nolan was apparently trying to tell a joke. _Trying_ because, politely as Thomas and Sherry were listening he was obviously straining their patience. His presence didn't improve Isabel's mood in the slightest.

"And then he picks up the fruitcake, and-Isabel! Oh, now I have to start all over. Trust me, you'll _love_ this one!"

"Oh, that won't be…necessary" Sherry said, trying as hard as she could not to be rude.

Isabel had no such compunctions. "Countermeasures" she said simply. "Scram."

Nolan blinked at her. "Isabel-"

"I mean it. _Scram_."

"Oh…kay. See ya, guys" Nolan said, before hurrying away, tail tucked firmly between his legs. Sherry started to walk away too, but Isabel grabbed her arm and firmly held her in place. "Not you. _You_ stay put." Sherry's eyes widened a little, but she nodded.

"That was uncivil" Thomas said sternly, looking at her over the rims of his glasses. "You didn't have to be rude to him."  
"Listen, Thomas, I know you two have been friends for ages, but Nolan's an idiot. You know that, I know that, Sherry knows that. Even _he_ knows that…probably. Besides, I have bigger fish to fry than Nolan Fletcher's feelings."

"What's up?" Sherry asked, not catching the guarded look Thomas was sending her. That changed in a flash.

" _This_ " Isabel replied, pulling out her cell phone and showing them both a picture she'd just taken a few minutes earlier. "We may have a serious problem."  
Thomas took her phone and studied it for a moment. "Carly's allowed. She's got that special-"

"I don't give a damn about Carly Tachibana and her special privileges!" Isabel snapped. "I'm talking about the _other_ person in this picture. Kirk Abel."

Sherry leaned over Thomas's shoulder to see the picture. Her muddy brown eyes went wide. "Oh God…" she said quietly.

"That's right" Isabel said, nodding and taking her phone back. "So now you see what's happening. I trusted you two to keep an eye on things. Well, look what that got us. Now we've got a mess to clean up."

Thomas shook his head. "Isabel, you have to believe, I had no idea-"

"Oh, I'm sure you didn't. And you didn't bother looking too closely, either. Well, you jacked it up royally, Thomas. You'd better hope nobody dies because of it."

"Now wait just a minute-!" Thomas began, his face flushing with anger. Beside him, Sherry's eyes widened a little. Clearly, she'd never seen Thomas get mad before either.

Isabel didn't care. She had bigger fish to fry than Thomas Martin's temper, too. "No, _you_ shut up and listen to me" she said forcefully. Thomas quailed. It was…somewhat satisfying, in a detached sort of way. Isabel's eyes drifted from Sherry to Thomas. "We're in a bind, yes, _but_ it's not as bad as it could be. So far, we've gotten lucky. Nobody's died…yet. But I won't tolerate any more mistakes. Got that?"

Neither of her friends would meet her eyes, and Isabel felt a little bad about that… _It's for their own good_ she told herself. _Either I get harsh or they get dead. Someday, they'll remember this conversation and they'll thank me._  
"I promise I won't mess up again" Sherry said. _Poor, timid Sherry_ Isabel thought sadly. _I'm glad I didn't pick her. I don't think she could handle this._ She resisted the urge to hug her friend. It would undo everything she'd just done. She needed to be harsh with them now, before something worse happened. Instead, she turned to Thomas.

"I asked you a question" Isabel said, forcefully.

"Yes. I've got it" Thomas ground out.

"Good" Isabel said, looking down at the clock on her phone. "Now get to class. We've got a lot of work to do" she said, over her shoulder as she walked away.

 _No mistakes_ she repeated to herself. _No mistakes._

August 10th

(ISABEL)

The best way to ignore the elephant in the room was by…ignoring the elephant in the room. Isabel, Sherry, and Alex had stopped at an overpriced burger stand at the Park to get some lunch. None of them were huge fans of fast food…it was what it was.

What it _also_ was was too expensive for Sherry.

"Twelve dollars for a burger!" she exclaimed. "That's insane."

"That's amusement park food" Alex replied dryly. "Here, why don't we split one? I mean, these things are at least _huge_ , right?"

"You don't have to-"

"No, I think it's a great idea" Isabel said, making a mental note to thank Alex later. "Let's do this."  
And so, after a rather confused look from the acne-faced teenage boy taking orders, the three sat down to eat their triply divided burgers.

"You guys didn't have to do that…" Sherry said self-consciously. "Thanks."

Isabel reached out and patted her arm. "Hey, what are friends for?"  
They talked about nothing for a few minutes, the same way she and her friends always had, and for a moment, Isabel felt like she could pretend things weren't as bad as they seemed. For a moment.

"So…" Alex said, finally deciding to address the issue at hand. "Do we know who else is in this with us? I've already talked to Vi and Amy; they'll be with us."

Sherry nodded. "I talked to Thomas. Assuming we both don't win the lottery, we'll be the Service Club reps for the class."

Alex took out her phone and started to scan what Isabel assumed was Facebook. "Yeah. Looks like we've got Kenneth Rivers and…oh, you'll like _this_ Isabel. Nolan Fletcher."

"Dear God, not _him_."

"Oh, cut him some slack" Sherry said. "He's not so bad…"

"Yes he is. And he will _not_ leave me alone. The idiot's been interested in me since Seventh Grade. I don't know _why_."

"You and your First World Problems" Alex told her, in mock irritation.

Sherry leaned forward. "Hey, who else is…Will Maunalani? Isn't he that Hawaiian guy?"  
"Uh…yeah…" Alex said, coloring a little. "He's in our class too."

"Wasn't he the one who-?"  
"Oh…uh…something like that" Alex said vaguely. "But that was ages ago. I'm sure he doesn't remember-"

"Oh, I'll bet he does" Sherry teased. "I mean, he punched that jerk in the _face_ because he called you a-"

" _I_ don't wanna talk about this anymore" Alex said evasively.

"Oh, somebody's got a _crush_ " Sherry teased.

"Do _not_!" Alex insisted. She looked over at Isabel. "Help me out here."  
Isabel smiled and shook her head. "I'm not getting involved in this."

"You're no help at all."

" _Alex and William_ " Sherry was singing.

"I'm going to hurt you."

"I dunno," Isabel said, "that has a nice ring to it."

Alex looked at her in disbelief. Then she sighed in resignation. "I hate you both."

"Aw, but we _love_ you, Alex" Sherry said, leaning over and putting her arm around her friend, her voice dripping with sugar, most of it fake. "But not as much as you love _William_ …"

"Shut up!" Alex shouted back, but without much heat. She was smiling now, something she didn't do very often. Not since…Isabel shook her head. Last Spring had been a tough time for everyone. It certainly had been for her.

Alex managed to disentangle herself from Sherry, and put the other girl in a headlock. Sherry squawked indignantly. "Isabel!" she shouted, ignoring the looks their group was getting.

"Sherry Link, you are a _liar_ " Alex said. She picked up a French fry and dabbed it in ketchup, before holding it poised over Sherry's forehead, like a pencil. "And we're going to make sure everyone else knows it too." She laughed evilly.

"No, not _that_!" Sherry screamed, playing it up. "Not _ketchup_! _Anything_ but that!" Her eyes drifted over to Isabel. "C'mon, don't let her do this to me!"  
"Well, Isabel, what do you say?" Alex said.

The two girls exchanged a look.

"I _dunno…_ I said I didn't want to get involved…"

"Oh, come on Isabel!" Alex shook the fry and a glob of ketchup dropped on Sherry's forehead. She squawked again, louder this time. The cashier at the food stand sent them all an irritated look.

"Oh, I think we need to wrap this up quick, Alex" Isabel said. "It looks like they're about to ask us to leave."

Alex sighed in mock frustration. " _Fine._ " She let Sherry go. "But this isn't over, Link" she added, pointing the fry at her like a sword. Sherry leaned forward and bit the tip off. Alex made a face. "I was using that."

"I know" Sherry replied cheerfully. "And now, _I'll_ be using it."

All three of them laughed at that.


	11. Breaks

Chapter 9: Breaks

September 9th

(KIRK)

Low and behold, Carly Tachibana _was_ in Room 319.

Kirk found her at the back of the class, head down in a book. Kirk checked his watch. He'd come back early from lunch, wondering who he'd find in here.

"So, Holly wasn't kidding" he said, looking down at his classmate. "You're quite the bookworm, Carly."

Carly looked up at him. Kirk thought he saw a brief flash of recognition on her face, but then it was gone. She adjusted her glasses. "I'm sorry, have we met?"

 _What?_ "Kirk. I'm the new student. We met this morning. Holly introduced us."

"I don't know what you're talking about. Holly who?"

"Holly Jordan. I was talking to her in the library when you joined us. Holly said you usually had your nose in a book. _You_ said I'm a terrible public speaker."

Carly's face reddened a little. "Well…yeah. You are…but I don't remember this conversation. And I don't know any Holly. Where did this happen?"  
"This morning, in the library. Holly told me you work in there for two periods."

"Well, yes, that's correct, but I work in the library in the afternoon, not the morning. The library's closed to students in the morning. I'm afraid you're mistaken."

 _This is getting weird_. "But we met this morning. We talked about books. I told you I read horror. You said you're a fan of romances and fantasy."

"Hey Carly…and new guy. What's up?"

Kirk looked over to see another boy standing next to him. If Carly Tachibana had had a non-Japanese twin brother, it would've been this guy. Like her he was small and thin, with thick glasses. There was a thick book sitting on his desk. _In the Presence of Mine Enemies_.

Carly's face brightened, and a look of relief washed across it. She waved at her friend. "Oh, hey Trip! This is Kirk. He and I were just talking about books."

Trip stuck out his hand. "Nice to meet you, Kirk. Trip Rhodes…and yes, I know, I sound like a private investigator."

"Nice to meet you" Kirk said absently, still trying to figure out what was going on.

"So, you're a reader too? That's great. Carly and I have a Book Club. We're not official, yet, but if we could get some more members and a sponsor, then we will be. You're more than welcome to come. We meet every Wednesday at four in the Library. You should come, it's a lot of fun."  
"Will Holly Jordan be there?"

Trip blinked at him, all trace of amity gone. "Who?"

"Holly Jordan. I met her and Carly this morning in the Library."

"This morning-? But it's not-"

"Oh, I know, the Library's not open in the morning and there's nobody here by that name. Yet if she wasn't there, then how did I know what genres Carly likes to read?"  
"But Kirk…I just told you that. Are you…are you feeling okay?"  
Trip picked that up in a heartbeat. "Yeah man, you don't look so good. Maybe you oughta sit down?"

Kirk leaned close to Carly. "Listen to me. I don't know what's going on here" he said quietly. "I don't know what game is being played, but I _don't like it_. I'm going to figure this out one way or another. Wouldn't it be easier for everyone if you just told me?"  
Carly's blue eyes were very wide behind her glasses. "You don't know what you're asking for, Kirk. Just let it go… _please_."

Kirk's eyes narrowed. "Fine. I guess I'll figure things out for myself." Without another word, he turned and walked away.

"What was that all about?" he heard Trip ask as he left the room. He just barely caught Carly's reply.

"Trouble."

August 10th

(ISABEL)

"You really think this was a good idea after we just ate?" Sherry asked, nervously eying the top of the hill.

"Honestly think it's too late to worry about now, don't you?" Alex replied.

Both she and Sherry had left their glasses down at the bottom of the hill, in a small cubby, along with their phones. As a result, they were both squinting at everything. Isabel, on the other hand, could see _exactly_ what was coming. She felt her heart start to race.

"Well, here it comes" she said anxiously.

"Guys…if I don't make it through this…I just want you to know…I love you both…okay?" Sherry said.

Isabel put an arm around her friends. "Come on, we can do this."

"Not like we have much choice right now..." Alex said. She pointed to something hanging from a wooden arm near the top of the hill. "Oh look…a camera."

"How about that?" Isabel asked as the rollercoaster neared the summit. "Okay, smile-!"

They reached the top and Isabel got a look at what was coming. She felt her eyes involuntarily widen as she saw how far down they were about to drop. There was a flash of light, and she felt herself enter freefall. The only thing keeping her and her friends in place was a thin metal bar…and their grip on each other.

Later on, Isabel would ponder the significance of that. Right now, however, she was too busy screaming with her friends. It was simpler that way.

September 9th

(KIRK)

School hadn't ended soon enough for Kirk. All day his mind had been wrapped up in trying to figure out why his classmates were lying to him. It just didn't make sense. Either Holly was real… _Or I'm losing my mind_.

Despite sitting toward the back of the room, he was one of the first students out of class. As he hurried down the hallway, he noticed something: while the students from other classes were filing outside, they gave he and his classmates a wide berth. _It's like they're afraid we've got something catching_ Kirk thought. _I wonder what that's all about._

He headed toward a large window in one of the stairwells. From here, he could see the others as they made their way home. He was surprised to learn a lot of his fellow students either drove themselves to and from school, or caught rides. He was one of the few who walked. _Must be an American thing_ he decided irrelevantly.

Then he caught sight of someone: a small, dark blue figure making her way down the sidewalk, her head down but somehow managing to avoid collision with the others. _Perfect_ Kirk thought as he headed downstairs.

It was getting cold outside, and the sky was overcast. It looked like it would start to rain at any moment. _Well, rain is something I'm used to_ Kirk told himself. "Now…where are you?"

"Kirk!"

The sound of his name caused Kirk to stop short and look around. His eyes fell on three girls: Sherry, his neighbor…and Isabel Castille.

"Isabel" Kirk said, turning to face her. "I'm glad to see you're feeling better."

Isabel inclined her head slightly, her braid thumping against her chest. "Thanks" she said, an appraising look on her face, like she was sizing Kirk up. Gone were whatever traces of friendliness she'd displayed at the hospital. This was all business. "So…I hear you've been asking a lot of questions."

Kirk nodded, suddenly wary, though he wasn't yet sure why. "That's right. I'm curious-"

"Don't be."

Kirk blinked. "I beg your pardon?"

"Do you remember when we met at the hospital Friday?" Isabel asked.

"Yeah. Why?"

"I told you, when the time came, I'd need your full cooperation."

"Cooperation with _what_? Nobody's telling me anything here." He pointed at Sherry. "You're yelling at me for asking about our classmates and _you're_ " he pointed at Alexandria, "telling me not to worry about things. But what _nobody_ 's done is tell me what this is all about."

Sherry looked like she wanted to dig herself a hole, crawl inside, and hide. Alexandria had been sizing him up like Isabel, but now she looked a little pained. Isabel glared at him for a minute, as if she were personally affronted by this defiance. She bit her lip and stared at him…then her shoulders relaxed.

"You're right" she said slowly, as if she were making a big concession. To either side of her, the other girls both visibly relaxed. Sherry let out a sigh. "I've been remiss in not explaining things to you. Maybe Thomas and I should've handled this _then_ …well, there's nothing I can do about that. I'll bet you'd like some answers" she smiled at him. This time, Kirk didn't think it was fake. He knew it. "So…shoot."

Kirk thought quickly. "On Friday you said you were Head of Countermeasures. I've asked around, but no one will tell me. What does that mean?"

Isabel seemed genuinely taken aback. "Oh, _that's_ what you want to know? There's no reason for anyone to have kept _that_ from you." She took a deep breath. "Basically, it's my job to plan contingencies for the class as a whole. In simple terms, I work out strategies and tactics to protect us and our families from misfortune and calamity. I have help from some of our classmates, of course. Alexandria and Thomas are my deputies. They assist and support me in my duties."

Kirk nodded. "Okay. Now how does Holly Jordan fit into all this?"  
What relief had been evident on Sherry's face vanished immediately. On Isabel's other side, Alexandria's eyes looked as though they wanted to break the lenses of her glasses and flee. But Isabel…her reaction was the most frightening.

First, her face froze, as if her brain simply couldn't compute what she'd just heard. She seemed genuinely perplexed by his question. Then her expression shifted, to one of…the closest Kirk could come was fury, as if his she saw his audacity as a personal affront. For a moment, he was concerned for his physical well-being.

Then she bit her lip again, and pain seemed to jolt her out of…wherever she'd been. The entire transformation lasted less than fifteen seconds, at the end of which she was back to her normal expression. "What?"

 _Seriously? We're doing this again?_ "I know you heard me. I know _you_ know what I just asked. I don't appreciate being lied to and misled. I want some answers."

Isabel's face remained frozen, like she'd reached another obstacle she wasn't sure how to navigate around. But Kirk could see her hands. She'd clenched them…and her knuckles were white, her fists trembling.

"You're borrowing trouble here…" she said calmly, far more calmly than she looked. "You want to be very careful about what you say next. _Very_ careful."

"What I _want_ is the truth" Kirk replied. He didn't know why, but he was suddenly angry about all this. He _hated_ being kept in the dark, always had.

Alexandria looked from Kirk to Isabel and back. " _Hey_ , look, I think that's my mom. Say, Kirk, why don't you let us give you a ride home?" she asked, nervously. She smiled at him, a big, fake one full of humor, but there was nothing but desperation in her eyes. "I mean, you're _right_ next door…"

"No thanks. I'm walking home."

"Then maybe you should get going" Isabel said. It wasn't a question, nor was it a suggestion.

"I will. But first, I have one more question."  
"Are you _sure_?" Alexandria asked, looking up at the sky. "It looks like it's gonna rain…maybe you should _leave now?_ " She was all but begging now. Isabel and Kirk ignored her.

"Shoot."

"You're all _so_ open and friendly…but why is it, whenever I say that name, I get jumped all over?" He looked at Alexandria, still wearing her nervous smile. " _She_ told me not to mess around with one of the desks in class," he said, watching his neighbor's grin slide away, before turning to Sherry, "and _she_ yelled at me and told me to never mention one name again when I asked her about it yesterday afternoon. So tell me…why are you all so _fake_?'

Sherry's eyes were very wide. They were wider still when Isabel whirled on her. "What's he talking about? You said nothing happened yesterday. You _said_ there weren't any problems."

"I-I was-"

"Isabel, do you really think now is a good time to-"

Isabel looked over her shoulder at Alexandria. That was all it took. Alexandria took a step back and looked away.

"You _what_? You didn't think I needed to know what was going on?"

"I just-"

Isabel shook her head and cut her off again. "You don't _just_ anything. This is ridiculous! How am I supposed to do my job when I can't trust you to keep me informed?"

Kirk was listening with half an ear. He noticed someone walking down the hill, on the sidewalk across the street from the school. The same dark blue someone he'd seen earlier. He felt bad for what he'd probably just done to poor Sherry, but at the same time…this was probably his only chance at getting away from Isabel without shedding blood. Slowly he began to edge away…

(ISABEL)

Isabel had never been this angry in her life. Sherry was trying to stammer out excuses, but she wasn't interested. No, she just wanted her friend to know what a disappointment she was.

"I expect you people to _help_ me out, not get in my way!" she snapped. "Honestly, I miss school for _one day_ and things go to hell this bad? Why didn't you say anything about this yesterday?"

Sherry's eyes were watering now, but she was trying as hard as she could not to cry. A part of Isabel, a small but nonetheless notable part, felt bad…the rest of her was too angry to care.

"I didn't want you to worry-"  
"You didn't want me to _worry_? So instead you risked someone _dying_? What kind of choice is that? How stupid are-"

"Isabel, it's not all Sherry's fault" Alex said. Isabel whirled on her, and was rewarded by watching her best friend cringe, as if she expected Isabel to hit her. A part of her was disturbed by that reaction as well. But only a part.

"What are you saying?"

"Sherry came to Thomas and me after lunch yesterday and tried to talk things over with us, but…we told her we needed to wait for you to come back before we made a decision."

"You've got to be kidding me!" Isabel shouted. "Why the _hell_ do I have you two around in the first place if you don't even keep my informed? Tell me that!"

Alex shook her head. "We didn't think-"

"No, Alex, and it's becoming increasingly obvious to me I _can't_ expect you to think for yourself. You're just not capable of it." Isabel said, shaking her head. Alex's eyes widened in shock, and she looked away. "Just stick to doing what you're told from now on. Leave all the heavy lifting to me. Think you can handle _that_?"

Alex nodded, still not looking up. "Yeah…yeah, I can do that."

"I'll tell you the same thing I told Thomas this morning, Alex. You're lucky nobody _died_. You should know better than most of us what the stakes are-"

"I said I've got it, Isabel!" Alex snapped. "You don't have to keep badgering me about it, alright?"

Isabel had thought she was cooling off, but Alex's outburst sent her right back over the edge. " _Badgering_ you? Well, I'm sorry if I'm hurting your feelings, but in case you've forgotten, you _volunteered_ for this just like I did! You knew what you were getting into, so don't-"

"Isabel-"

Isabel whirled around to face Sherry. " _What_?" Then she saw what was missing. "Son of a _bitch_ " she swore. "Why didn't you say anything?"

Sherry took a deep, shaky breath. "I didn't-"

"Well, where'd he go? You saw that, at least?"  
Sherry didn't answer. She just pointed. Isabel squinted. She could just make out Kirk, walking down the street, about fifty feet behind… "Oh God."

She turned to Sherry. "Follow him."

Sherry blinked in confusion. "What?"  
"You heard me. This is _your_ mess" she added, tapping Sherry's chest. "Clean it up."

"Isabel-" Alex began, but Isabel cut her off.

"Not another word out of you." She turned back to Sherry. "Now dry it up and get a move on. You're about to lose him."

Sherry took another deep breath and tried to get her tears under control. "I…I won't you let you down again. I promise." She tried to smile.  
"I hope not" Isabel replied coldly.

Sherry's smile slipped away. She looked like she wanted to say something else, but one more look at Isabel's face was enough to convince her otherwise, and she hurried away as fast as she could, her flip-flops making loud smacking noises with each step.

Isabel watched her walk away. "Alex?" she said, not turning to look at her other friend.

"Yes?"

"Don't ever undermine me again." Without waiting for a response, Isabel walked away.

(KIRK)

Kirk was an avid walker. It was just one of his favorite things to do. He liked being outside, moving around, more often than not alone with his thoughts. As a result of that he was in pretty good shape.

He told himself he wasn't closing with Holly because she'd gotten a good head start on him, but he'd catch up eventually. Still, after twenty minutes it was becoming increasingly clear this wasn't the case.

 _How can someone with such short legs be out walking_ me _?_ he wondered.

He wasn't sure what had prompted this. On some level he felt a bit creepy, but at the same time, he figured he deserved answers one way or another. If the others wouldn't tell him, maybe she would.

He'd assumed Holly would be heading home, but instead she was walking toward downtown. Kirk had only been through here once, and not for very long at that. He hoped he'd be able to find his way out again. It'd be rather embarrassing to have to call his grandmother for something as pedestrian as getting lost…

He followed Holly past row after row of shops. He saw some bookstores he thought he'd like to check out later, along with a rather interesting modern art gallery, plus a store specializing in antique pipes he was sure his dad would've liked. Holly, for her part, didn't window shop at all. Either she was used to coming this way, or there just wasn't anything interesting about what she saw.

He saw her round a corner, and mentally cursed himself for being slow. The last time she'd done that had been at school, and she'd vanished into thin air. _This better not be for nothing_ he thought, hurrying down a flight of stairs…

But no, there she was, walking down a deserted sidewalk, dominated by the storefront for something called The Doll House. Holly seemed to be slowing down, and Kirk thought about calling out to her, when he heard a scream from behind him. He whirled around, not caring Holly would probably do the same thing and see-

"Sherry?" he exclaimed, hurrying over to where his friend had fallen. "Are you okay?"

Sherry nodded, but her teeth were clenched, and her face was already wet with tears. "Yeah" she said, quietly.

"What are you doing out here? What happened?"

"I fell…stupid stairs…" Sherry said, her teeth still gritted. Kirk noticed she answered the first question, but not the second. "I think I may have…sprained my ankle."

"Well, let's get you up and someplace more comfortable" Kirk said, helping her to her feet. "Here, put your arm over my shoulder. Just lean on me, okay?"

"Thanks…Kirk" Sherry managed. "You're…okay."

Kirk smiled at that. "Hey, what are friends for? Now let's get you inside-" he said, turning around…only to see he'd lost sight of Holly. _Well, you can't exactly drag Sherry after her anyway, can you?_ he told himself. He couldn't help feeling a bit irritated, though.

"Let's go, right through here" he said, helping Sherry limp toward the only building available. His friend stopped when she saw the sign.

"Oh…not here" she said, the pain in her voice masked now by fear. "I can't go in there."

"Why not?" Kirk asked, genuinely confused.

"I…I don't think it'd be a good idea."

"Sherry, we've got to get you inside someplace and off your leg. Do you see anywhere else?" he asked, gesturing around. The only other building was across the street, with a large FOR SALE sign painted on the inside of its front window.

"I don't know…"

Kirk smiled at her. "It'll be okay. I'll be right here with you."

Sherry's face reddened and she looked away. "Okay…" she said quietly.

The door to the Doll House was belled, Kirk realized as he shouldered it open and helped Sherry inside. "Hello? Is someone there? My friend is hurt and needs a place to rest! Hello?"

There was no immediate answer. Kirk squinted as he looked around. The entire place was dark, the only light filtering in around the shade's on the store's front window. He could make out dim shapes on the shelves around he and Sherry, but he couldn't tell what they were. He felt Sherry's grip tighten on his shoulder.

"Kirk…let's go. _Please_. I don't think we should-"

"Well, look at this."

Kirk and Sherry both jumped at the sound, a thin, frail voice coming from deeper in the room. They looked toward its source, to find a small figure seated behind the counter.

"Now what are two teenagers doing here?" the old woman asked.

"My friend twisted her ankle, and she needed a place to sit down. I didn't mean to just barge in, but there's nowhere else to go."

"Of course" the old woman replied. "We don't get many customers, certainly not many your age. Feel free to look around if you'd like. If you're from one of the public high schools, I can even give the two of you a discount."

 _Did she hear any of what I just said?_ Kirk wondered. "Thank you…maybe some other time. Right now my friend just needs to sit down, if that's okay?"  
The old woman nodded. "Of course. We don't have any customers at the moment anyway. We don't get many, you see…"

"Thanks" said Kirk, still not sure the old woman was listening or not. He helped Sherry to a pair of chairs in a corner.

Sherry let out a sigh of relief as she sat down. "Thanks Kirk."

"Hey, don't worry about it" he replied, sitting down next to her. "Are you okay?"

Sherry tried to cross her legs, but winced, and settled for tucking one foot underneath her, her bad leg outstretched. "I've been worse. I think my dress may be ruined, though" she added, looking down at the dirty green fabric, a sad look on her face. "It's a shame. I liked this one. It's not very often I get to feel pretty."

"Oh, I don't think you need a dress for that" Kirk replied immediately. He just as immediately felt his face heating. _Why did you have to say_ that _?_

Sherry's head jerked around to look at him, her eyes wide. Just as quickly they dropped back down to stare at her lap. "Thanks…" she said quietly. Kirk couldn't tell, but he suspected she was blushing again. Then she sighed. "And my other shoe is still outside" she said. Somehow she'd managed to hold onto one of her flip-flops throughout her adventures. The other one had apparently fled.

Kirk stood up. "I'll go get it" he said quickly. For some strange reason, he wanted to get away from her for a minute…

"No, that's okay" she replied, just as quickly. She reached for his arm, but he'd moved when he stood, and instead her fingers closed on his hand. Just as quickly, they jerked away, as if they'd been burned. "Sorry" she muttered.

It was quiet for a few minutes.

"Well, I think you've learned something valuable today" he said, deciding to change the subject.

"What's that?"

"If you want to follow someone, wear better shoes."

"What do you mean?"

"Isabel sent you after me, didn't she?"

Kirk's eyes were starting to adjust to the dim light. He saw Sherry's face rather clearly now. She looked like she wanted to argue…but her eyes dropped away. "Yeah…she did."

"I'm sorry I got you in trouble with her earlier" Kirk said.

"Not your fault" Sherry replied, still not looking at him.

"You know, it's not okay for her to treat you like that. Either of you."

"What do you mean?" Sherry asked again, looking at him.

"She's bullying you. She's got no right to say things like that, especially not to someone who's supposed to be her friend."

Sherry looked at her in confusion. "But she _is_ my friend."

Kirk shook his head. "Friends don't make each other feel worthless. Friends don't make each other cry."

"Kirk…hang on a sec." Sherry fished something out of her bag, then handed it to Kirk. It was a cell phone. "Push the button in the middle" she instructed.

Kirk did so, and was almost immediately blinded by the screen as it illuminated. It took a few seconds for his eyes to readjust. When they did, he found Sherry, Isabel, and Alexandria smiling up at him.

"I took that picture a couple weeks before term started" Sherry explained as Kirk handed the phone back. "Isabel wanted us to go have fun one last time before school started, just the three of us."

"You look so happy."

"We _were_ happy" Sherry replied. "Isabel…she's not a bad person, okay? She's just stressed out. Don't make things harder on her than they need to be, please. If not for her…then do it for me. Okay?"

Kirk nodded. "Okay. I'll give her another chance."

Sherry smiled at him in the darkness. "Thanks Kirk. Now let me call my folks. They're probably starting to worry about me."

They spent the rest of the afternoon talking about nothing much. It was forty minutes by Kirk's watch before Sherry's mother arrived.

"Sherry, are you okay?" she asked, hurrying over to her daughter. "Does it hurt?"

"I'm okay Mom. Kirk helped me get inside."

Sherry's mother turned to face him. "Are you one of my daughter's friends? Thank you so much for taking care of her."

"It's not a problem, Mrs. Link. Sherry's been a good friend to me. It was just a nice time to return the favor."

Mrs. Link seemed puzzled for a moment by his accent, but had other things to worry about. "Well Sherry, let's get you home. Then I'll have to go back to work. Your dad will be home at six-thirty. Do you think you'll be okay until then?"  
Sherry nodded. "Yeah Mom, I'll be fine. But what about Kirk? Can't we give him a ride too?"  
"Oh no, that's not necessary" Kirk replied, suddenly not interested in being alone with Sherry and her mother. "I can find my own way home."

"Well…if you're sure" Mrs. Link said. She looked back at her daughter. "Can you make it to the car on your own?"  
"Don't worry, I can help" Kirk offered. Five minutes later, they'd deposited Sherry in the front passenger's seat of the Links' car.

"Thanks, Kirk" Sherry said, her face again red with embarrassment; she still managed to smile at him. "See you tomorrow?"  
"Count on it" Kirk replied, with a smile of his own.


	12. On the Wall

Chapter 10: On the Wall

September 10th

(KIRK)

 _Where is he? Where is he?_

"C'mon Abe, you can't just _sit_ there. He's gonna get you" Nolan urged him.

Thomas chuckled. "Go ahead and run, Kirk. You'll just die tired."

 _Hell with it_.

Kirk burst from the bushes, his rifle tucked close to his chest, and bolted, sprinting down the dusty dirt road. He felt relief when he didn't hear the sound of Thomas's rifle…a sensation which lasted just long enough for a bullet to hit him in the gut. Kirk immediately through himself flat and began to crawl forward, trying to stay out of sight.

To his left, he heard the sound of a rifle cartridge hitting the floor.

"Did you get him?" Jerry asked.

"Yeah…" Thomas said calmly. "Now I've just got to finish him."

"Ah man Abe, you gotta _move_ …"

"I've _got_ it under control, Nolan" Kirk said irritably. His armor had taken most of the round, so now it was just a matter of crawling forward…

Kirk made it into a small house, still flat on his stomach, and let out a sigh of relief. As before, that relief died when he turned to his right, to find a large, pale plastic box staring at him. He could see words on the front of it.

FRONT TOWARD ENEMY

"Oh…" Kirk had time to moan as the mine detonated.

Jerry and Thomas high-fived over Nolan's head. The tall, blond-haired athlete shook his head in disgust. "I can't believe this, Martin. Claymores _again_?"

Thomas shrugged. "What can I say? You picked a predictable place to look for me from, and I lured you into my trap. Why else do you think I went with the M40? This gun is _terrible_ , but I knew shooting you would cause you to run for the nearest 'safe place' you could find." He adjusted his glasses. "It was actually pretty simple."  
"You're way too good at this" Nolan said irritably.

"Oh, Nolan, you're just mad because _I_ got you" Jerry said.

"You camped in the corner with the grenade launcher and _blew yourself up!_ I wouldn't say that's a win!"

"Well…who wants to play another round?" Jerry asked, apparently having decided to change the subject in an argument he knew he wouldn't win.

Thomas shook his head. "Well, that's enough for me. I've gotta go home and get some sleep. It may not matter to you, Nolan, but _I_ want to do well on the State Assessments tomorrow."

"Oh come on! You _know_ those are all about school funding. It doesn't make any difference for us _how_ we do!"

Kirk wasn't following. "Assessments? I'm still not sure what those are exactly."

"Basically they're a test the State of Colorado sends out to all the public schools. The idea is to see how well we're doing; schools with better scores get better funding, which means better class rooms and more electives, which looks good on college applications" Thomas explained. "True, they don't actually decide our fates per say…but they _do_ help stack the deck in our favor."

"And everyone has to take them?" Kirk asked.

Thomas nodded. "That's right. It's a big deal if you miss them. As in, they expect you to come in on Saturday if you miss one."

"So…even people who aren't normally in class would still be there, right?"  
Thomas looked at him in puzzlement, but then he figured out who Kirk meant…he thought. "Yes, even people like Carly, who normally aren't full-time in class with us, will still be there. It's one of the few times throughout the year the entire homeroom is together."

 _Interesting_ Kirk thought, filing that away for future reference.

A few minutes later Kirk stood outside with Thomas and Nolan. Jerry saw them out.

"Thanks for having us over" Thomas said.

"Hey guys, anytime" the shorter boy replied. "It's always fun to have people over, you know? Take care."

The three boys headed down the sidewalk, but Thomas parted ways with Kirk and Nolan at the end.

"Where ya goin', man?" Nolan asked, looking confused. "Home's that way."

Thomas nodded. "That's right. But I've got to meet Sarah at the Library. Our parents aren't okay with a fourteen year-old walking home alone after dark."

"Sarah?" Kirk asked.

"Thomas's kid sister" Nolan explained. "She's loud and obnoxious; polar opposite of Mr. Deadpan here."

Thomas chuckled. "Nolan, you've not been around Sarah in four years. You'd be amazed how much a person can change. She's settled down…a little." He shrugged. "Well, I've got to go. You two have fun."

"See you tomorrow."

Nolan and Thomas, it turned out, lived only a few blocks away from Kirk. That meant they could walk home together.

Nolan was uncommonly quiet for most of it. Kirk was beginning to think something was wrong, but his friend finally broke the silence.

"I heard about what happened between you and Isabel the other day."

"Word gets around that fast, huh?"  
Nolan nodded. "Well, you sort of got into a shouting match in front of most of the student body. Of course we found out about it."

"I don't see what the big deal is. I ask a few questions and everyone goes mental-"

"The 'big deal' is you're messing with things you don't understand!" Nolan snapped.

Kirk blinked and looked at his friend. Nolan was usually an easy going guy…this was unlike him. _The same thing happened with Isabel. She was so nice at the hospital, but yesterday…it's like she was a totally different person…_

"What are you talking about? If I don't understand, it's because no one will tell me anything!"

"You're messing with things that don't exist, and it's gonna…" Nolan stopped himself, apparently having gone further than he'd meant to.

"What?" Now Kirk was very confused.

Nolan took a deep breath. "Damn it. Isabel's gonna kill me…"

"What? Why?"  
"Because I've got a big mouth and a tiny brain" Nolan said, looking away. "And I can't seem to keep from sticking my foot right in it-Listen, I'll make you a deal."

"A deal?"

Nolan nodded, suddenly liking the idea very much. "Yeah. A deal. I'll explain _everything_ to you…in three weeks."

"Three _weeks_?" Kirk repeated. "But that's-"

"October. _Exactly_. I'll lay all my cards on the table on October first. Mark it on your calendar. I promise, I'll answer any questions you have…but not until then."

Kirk eyed him skeptically. "Why the long wait?"

"Because I love to keep you hanging! What difference does it make?"

Kirk thought about that for a moment. "Alright. Fine. You'll tell me _everything_ in October. Deal."

"Sweet!" Nolan exclaimed. Then he made a face. "Oh…and uh, Abe?"

"Yeah?"  
"Don't tell Isabel about our deal, okay?"

"Why not?"

"She might…she might hurt me if she found out."

 _This makes no sense at all_. "Sure. Your secret's safe with me."

Nolan clapped him on the shoulder. "Abe, you're the _man_!"

"Why do you care so much about what Isabel thinks of you?"

"Because…because…hey, don't ask anymore questions, okay?"

Kirk snorted. He thought he'd already put two and two together anyway. "Sure, whatever."

"Don't you laugh at me! Do I ask about you and Sherry?"

"Actually, yes" Kirk said, then felt a stab of worry. Sherry hadn't been at school today. He hoped she was okay.

"Well…this is different, okay?"

"Sure. Whatever you say Nolan."

"Don't judge me!"

"Don't be so excitable. You're gonna wake the entire neighborhood."

" _Fine_."

September 11th

The next day wasn't much different from the others. There was something called a "Moment of Silence" early in the morning which, Thomas had explained before school started, was as close as the public school system would come to inviting people to pray in class. Kirk, for his part, remembered 9/11, albeit not as vividly as he did 7/7. Terrorism was a lot more real when it hit your own country, after all.

The sky remained cloudy and dark all morning. Kirk kept expecting it to rain, but it never obliged. He was beginning to think the suspense would kill him.

The impending rain did _not_ save the class from having to dress out for PE…Kirk's recent discharge from the hospital accomplished that instead.

"You don't look very happy, Abe" Nolan said, looking down at his friend, sitting on the bench beside the field where the school conducted Physical Education classes.

"I'd just as soon be out there with everyone else" Kirk replied, shaking his head. "I don't like being coddled."

"Well, if you _were_ in class it'd kinda complicate things a little" Violet said. "I mean, we're doing badminton right now. You'd need a partner."

"True…" Kirk admitted. His group of American friends, as he was starting to think of them, were fairly close knit…but they'd also known each other for years. They'd never intentionally made him feel like one, but from time to time he was reminded he was still an outsider. Nolan and Jerry had partnered up, as had Violet and her quiet friend Amy. Even if Kirk _could_ play, he'd have to find another someone without a partner.

"What about Thomas?" Kirk asked.

Nolan shrugged. "He's off doing smart-people stuff, man. I don't ask questions about where he is." Then Nolan caught sight of something behind Kirk. "Well, I think I see someone who'd be more than willing to partner up with you."

"What are you-?" Kirk turned around, to see two people walking toward them. One was a skinny, pale-looking boy, who immediately put Kirk in mind of Holly Jordan's male equivalent. The other…

"Sherry?"

Sherry waved cheerfully, hobbling over to Kirk and the others. Kirk was glad to see his friend back at school, but she was still obviously favoring her injured leg.

"Look who it is!" Violet said, beaming at the other girl. "What did you do to yourself?"

Sherry made a face. "I…uh…fell down some stairs and sprained my ankle."

"Are you okay? Does it still hurt?" Kirk asked. He edged over on the bench, and Sherry sat down next to him. "You had me worried a little yesterday."

Sherry colored and she didn't meet his eyes. "Oh…well, thanks. My mom wanted me to go see a doctor. I kept telling her I was fine but…being an only child kinda sucks sometimes, you know?" Then her eyes widened a little. "Oh, I'm really rude. I didn't introduce you." She gestured toward the boy she'd walked out with. "This is Jonah. He's in our class too. He sits in the back."

Jonah stuck out his hand. "Nice to meet you" he said, his voice surprisingly strong. "You must be Kirk. Sherry was just telling me about you."

"I'll _bet_ she was" Nolan said, smiling. Sherry's face reddened. Violet elbowed him in the ribs. "Ow! What was _that_ for?"

"You're an insensitive little dick sometimes, do you know that?"

"Am _not_!"

"Are too!"

"Am not-Hey, Isabel!" Nolan's head jerked around when he saw her walking toward the field. "You wanna verse me and Jerry?"

"Verse?" Jerry repeated.

Nolan ignored him. In fact, he ignored his friends completely, hurrying over to where Isabel and Alexandria were. He started having an animated conversation with both girls, gesturing to himself, Jerry, and the field with his racquet. Whatever he was proposing, Isabel seemed to consider, before looking at Alexandria, who shrugged. Isabel's shoulders sagged a little, as if she'd been hoping to pass this off to her friend. She turned back to Nolan and nodded.

Nolan pumped his fist in the air, then turned to Jerry. "C'mon, man! Let's not keep these ladies waiting!"  
Jerry sighed. "Oh, I can see how _this_ will turn out." He turned to the others. "See you guys."

Kirk looked at Sherry and Violet, the later of whom was scowling at Nolan's receding back. The other boy was practically _skipping_ along with Isabel and Alexandria, though Isabel seemed to be trying her hardest to pretend Nolan wasn't there at all. "That was abrupt."

Violet didn't respond, but Amy chuckled. "Somebody's been nursing a crush since we were twelve. It's kinda pathetic, actually."

Kirk had no idea who that was, but at this point he didn't really care. Instead he nodded toward Violet, who was still watching the others. "What's with her?"

Amy shrugged. "Reality…it sucks sometimes."

Kirk found himself watching Nolan and Isabel's game with the others. From a pure appearances perspective, he had to admit, his friend had taste. Isabel was easily one of the most attractive girls in their class. Like most of the girls in his class (with the exception of Alexandria), Isabel was wearing athletic shorts, and…it wasn't a bad view, all things considered. There was _something_ about Isabel Kirk couldn't quite place, but whatever it was, she had it in spades, and none of the his other female classmates had it at all. But…

But, there was the way he'd seen her treat Sherry and Alexandria two days earlier. Kirk wasn't really sure _what_ he thought of his neighbor (Lily had warned him she was odd but so far that hadn't manifested). But Sherry _was_ his friend, and he didn't like seeing people he cared about abused like that.

And what was this Countermeasures thing? _Protect the class from calamity?_ What did _that_ mean?

"Hey, Vi!"

The call broke Kirk out of his thoughts. He looked to his right to see two other boys heading toward the benches: a tall, skinny boy with messy dark hair, and-

"Oh God, not Lincoln" he heard Violet mutter, rolling her eyes.

"Whatcha doin' over here with the cripples, Vi?" Lincoln asked, smiling at the shorter girl. "Why don't you and Amy come play with me and Kenny?"

Violet blinked at him. "I'm really not sure which to be more offended by, Lincoln: you calling my friends cripples, or how blatantly sexual that sounded." She looked at Amy, who shrugged.

"Toss up to me."

If Lincoln was embarrassed by this, he didn't give any sign. "Vi, I keep telling you, call me Link. All my friends do."

Amy cocked an eyebrow at him. "You and Kenny are a collective body now? Or did you meet some new people over the summer who don't know what a-"

"When I want _your_ opinion, Strawberry Shortcake, I'll ask for it" Lincoln said, not even looking at Amy. For her part, the redhead's face suddenly came very close to matching her hair. Behind him, the other boy, Kenny, winced a little, but didn't say anything.

"C'mon" said Lincoln, gesturing toward the field. "If you don't get a move on, Coach is gonna have your ass."

"Better him than you" Violet muttered.

"What?"  
"Nothing. And besides, why would I _want_ to play against you anyway?"  
"I've got charm and good looks" Lincoln replied, smiling widely. "Besides, I don't see anyone _else_ lining up here. Fletcher and that other guy bailed on you for Isabel and Noble. And Coach is gonna have an aneurysm if you don't get a move on."

As if on cue, Coach Grayson, their current PE teacher, blew his whistle and pointed at them. "Fields, Belle, Rice, River, this is _not_ a sewing circle! Get a move on before I fail you!"

A triumphant grin spread across Lincoln's face. "Told ya" he said smugly.

Violet made a face of her own. It was _not_ a happy one. "Sorry guys." She turned to Amy. "Well, let's go feed the animals."

Amy smiled mischievously. "Can we hit them?"

"Maybe."

That left Kirk alone with Sherry, Jonah, and the boy who sat in front of him in class, Cody. At the moment, though, the big, broad shouldered boy was sitting at another bench, his head down, reading a hardbound graphic novel. He was asthmatic, he'd explained, and therefore, wasn't able to participate in PE. "Not that I'm complaining" he added, shrugging and going back to his comic.

Kirk looked over at his two classmates. "What was that all about?"

Sherry smiled thinly. "We're…not a very big town, in case you hadn't noticed. Most of the people at this school have known each other their entire lives."

"Well, I can see that. Nolan has a crush on Isabel, doesn't he?"  
Sherry nodded. "Yeah. The sad thing is he thinks he's hiding it. I've tried to stick up for him, but Isabel just sees him as an idiot."

"And that Lincoln guy? What's his deal? He seems like he's ready to have a go at anyone at a moment's notice."

Sherry shrugged. "Lincoln was always one of the shortest kids in class, and I guess he felt like he had to make up for that by being aggressive. It's also why he hangs around with Kenny River. He's always been extremely tall. But…he kind of lets Lincoln run him. Kenny's kind of a coward. He doesn't like confrontation. He's not a bad guy, but he doesn't like to stand up to others." Sherry sighed. "We've already had a few complaints through the Service Club about he and Lincoln picking on the Freshman. Thomas and I haven't seen anything yet, but if we do…"

"You could always turn Isabel lose on them" Kirk offered. "I'm sure _that_ would cause them to stop" he suggested with a small.

Sherry sent him an irritated look. "I thought I asked you to cut her some slack?"

Kirk's smile faded. "Sorry." It was hard to cut someone some slack when they kept sending you looks strong enough to peel paint off walls, but…he figured he could do it for Sherry.

"So what's going on between Lincoln and Violet?" he asked instead.

"Lincoln's got a crush on Violet. I have no idea why; they have nothing in common. Violet's a sweet, outgoing girl and Lincoln is the exact opposite. Besides…Vi's _madly_ in love with Nolan" Sherry added, looking away and smiling fondly. "Poor Vi. Nolan's only got eyes for Isabel." She shrugged. "But he has a lot of competition for her. Most of the male student body wants her, and she and William Maunalani are pretty tight."

"I keep hearing that name. Who's that?"

"Big, strapping Hawaiian guy" Jonah added, taking part in the conversation for the first time. "I can tell you this: most of the guys _hated_ him when he first started going to school with us back in sixth grade. All the girls were crazy for him."

Sherry smiled. "Some of them still are." She didn't elaborate any further, but Kirk suspected there was something she wasn't sharing. Instead, she changed the subject. "It's a shame about Vi and Nolan, though. I think they'd be cute together, don't you?"

"Well, they're definitely fun to listen to" Kirk allowed. "Well, you seem to know a little about everyone else in class. What about you? Anyone _you're_ interested in?"

Sherry's face suddenly got very red. "Uh…maybe" she said, looking away and adjusting her glasses. "I don't want to talk about that." Then she made a face. "Uh-oh."

"What?" Kirk asked. And then he saw.

Nolan tossed the shuttlecock into the air and then smashed his racquet into it. He was serving diagonally, the way you did in badminton, and that meant the shuttlecock was headed straight for Isabel…who wasn't paying attention in the slightest. Alexandria said something to warn her partner, but that only ensured the shuttlecock dropped directly onto her face like a smart bomb.

Kirk watched Nolan's face shatter, a look of pure, abject horror replacing the elation he'd displayed the second before. On his side of the net, Jerry's face went completely pale, his mouth actually hanging open. Isabel staggered back, clutching her face. The shuttlecock dropped to the ground.

Nolan took a step toward Isabel, trying to placate her. Instantly Isabel's head snapped up and she started toward him, her fists clenched tightly, her racquet trembling in one hand. Alexandria managed to interpose herself between them, but this didn't prevent Isabel from waving her racquet angrily in Nolan's direction and shouting at him. Kirk was too far away to hear the words, but he could tell by their tone they were not complimentary.

Despite the gravity of the situation, he found some part of this hilarious.

Sherry stood up. "I'd better head over there before she hurts him" she said. "See you later, Kirk."

Coach Grayson blew his whistle. " _Fletcher!_ " he screamed. "Badminton is _not_ a contact sport!" he screamed, stomping over to the thoroughly embarrassed teenager.

"Be careful" he suggested, watching his friend hobble away.

"She likes you a lot, you know?" Jonah said.

Kirk turned to look at him. "What makes you say that?"

Jonah shook his head. "She would _not_ shut up about you yesterday. She came to visit me in the Nurse's office after school; part of the Service Club. Anyway, she kept going _on and on_ about you. Honestly, I kind of hated you until I met you." He smiled to show he was kidding. "So Mac, what're you in for?"

"In for?"

Jonah patted the bench. "Why are _you_ riding the Pine Pony on this dark, dreary, and dreadful day?"

"Oh. Uh…I don't like to talk about it."

"Hey, you're among friends here" said Cody, not looking up from his comic book. "You can spill it. We won't judge you. _Well_ …Jonah won't, anyway." Kirk couldn't tell if he was kidding or not.

"Cody's asthmatic" Jonah explained. "He's also a bit of a slacker, so this doesn't really bother him" he added, smiling over at the bigger boy. Cody, if he heard, didn't rise to the bait. "Me…I _wish_ I could be out there with them."

"Why can't you?"

"Heart condition" Jonah explained. "Your heart is a muscle and mine…it never developed correctly. It's a bit too weak to pump blood throughout my body if I do anything more strenuous than climb the stairs so…here I sit." He sighed. "I've never gotten to play games with my friends; anything exciting is potentially lethal for me. If it raises my heart rate too much…it can be the end. I can't even go to movies; they raise my blood pressure. There are certain people I can't be around for the same reason."

"Because they make you angry?"

Jonah shook his head. "No…just the opposite, unfortunately." Then his face brightened. "So c'mon man, tell me what ails you. I mean, we're already both named for famous navigators; you can trust me."

"Famous navigators?"  
"Oh yeah. My most famous namesake didn't have the most noble of accomplishments, but _yours…_ Boldly going where no man has gone before…pretty cool, right?"

"I'm not actually named after _that_ Kirk, you know."

"Oh, I figured. Still, it makes for a good story, right?"

"Yeah…" Kirk said, then he shrugged. _Why not?_ "It's called a _pneumothorax_. Basically my lung folds up on itself like a balloon."

Jonah's eyes were a little wide. "That's terrible!"

"Oh, yeah, it's not much fun" Kirk said. _No, it's singlehandedly the most painful and terrifying experience you can have: not being able to breathe and not being able to do anything about it._

"What caused it?"

Kirk shrugged. "Nobody knows. I was born early, but medically, the science is still out."

Jonah nodded. "That's two things we've got in common." His watch began to beep. "Well, I've gotta go take my medicine. I'll see you later, Kirk. We sit pretty close together."

"We do?"

Jonah nodded. "Yeah. You know the girl who sits next to you? Alex?"

"Yeah. We live next door."

Jonah blinked. "Really? Hm…Well, anyway, I sit behind her. So now you know where to find me. See you later Kirk, Cody."

"Later Jonah" Cody said, still not looking up from his comic book.

Kirk sat there alone for a few more minutes, before Sherry rejoined him. "What happened to Jonah?" she asked.

"He said he had to go take some medicine."

"Oh" said Sherry, sitting down, this time closer to Kirk than before. _She really_ does _like me_ he realized. "Well, I think I may have persuaded Isabel killing Nolan would be a bad idea."She smiled. "So, where were we?'

 _I was asking you uncomfortable questions_. "Uh…"

At that moment, there was a clap of thunder, and without warning, all the rain being held up for the past two days suddenly decided to dump itself all over the field. The drops were big and fat, the water ice cold and seemingly razor sharp.

Coach Grayson blew his whistle. "Get inside!" he shouted, pointing toward the doors.

"Oh _great_ " Sherry said, her head down as she tried to hobble for the door. "I'm gonna get soaked!"

Kirk smiled at her. "Probably. Lean on me" he added, putting his arm around her waist. "We'll make better time together."

"But you'll get wet too" Sherry pointed out.

Kirk smiled. "Probably. But hey, I'll be in good company."

Despite the situation, despite being soaked to the skin, Sherry's smile made him feel warm inside.

August 10th

(ISABEL)

The girls had split up. Alex said she wanted to hit the bathroom, and Sherry went to pick up their pictures from the ride. That left Isabel holding the bag…literally, this time. And it was starting to feel like Sherry had packed a horse in hers; Alex, at least, just carried a small messenger bag, which wasn't as heavy.

Alex was the first one back, but she kept looking at the bathroom over her shoulder.

"Everything okay?" Isabel asked. "You seem awfully preoccupied."

Alex shook her head. "Nothing. I just thought…never mind."

"Look what I've got here!" Sherry exclaimed, joining the group and holding up three card paper pictures. She handed one to her friends. "What do you think?"  
Isabel looked at the image. She and Sherry were both screaming, while Alex's face was frozen in abject terror. It…wasn't flattering for any of them.

"I dunno" Alex said, shaking her head. "I don't think this is quite Facebook material…"

"Oh, don't be like that" Sherry coaxed. "One day, we're gonna look back on this and smile."

"You think so?" Isabel asked her shorter friend.

Sherry nodded. "I _know_ so. You've just gotta be optimistic. Some day, all of this will be hilarious."

September 11th

(KIRK)

Kirk found he had two frantic text messages from his grandmother, and one from Lily (which was in and of itself surprising) explaining Helena Godiva would be giving him a ride home if it was still raining when school let out. Kirk replied to his aunt and his grandmother, and then didn't think about it for the rest of the day.

He managed to not get any wetter when he dashed to his grandparent's station wagon after school let out, nor did he fall on his face. He was willing to mark both of this achievements in the day's "win" column.

"So, how was school?" his grandmother asked as they pulled out of the parking lot.

"Wet" Kirk replied honestly.

The remark was meant to be flippant, but it launched his grandmother into a lengthy discourse on how she always worried about his lung problems, especially as cold as it got in the winter. "If you're not careful, you'll get pneumonia, and as sickly as you are, that'd be the end of you, dear" she said in her usual fatalistic way.

Kirk, for his part, was only listening with half an ear, instead thinking over the events of the day. He wasn't sure what to make of Sherry's attraction to him…it seemed so strange for someone to have a crush on _him_ of all people, especially since they'd only known each other for a week. _Still, if I have to have an admirer, I could do worse_ he decided, smiling faintly.

Then he saw something making its way down the sidewalk which caused him to sit up straight. _What the hell?_

It was Holly Jordan, walking along the side of the road, her head down, her dark hair plastered to her face, her clothing saturated and clinging to her body, her entire form hunched over like some dejected animal. Kirk had just enough time to recognize his classmate, and thought about asking his grandmother to pull over and over her a ride, but when he looked over his shoulder to track her, still indecisive, his eyes widened.

It could've been a trick of the rain, but…

The sidewalk was empty.


	13. Traps

11\. Traps

September 17th

(SHERRY)

It was, officially, supposed to be a study period, but try as she might, Sherry couldn't keep her mind on her schoolwork. It had been over a week since Kirk and Isabel's confrontation, but still her friend's words echoed inside her head.

 _This is_ your _mess. Clean it up._

Sherry didn't know what to do. She understood _how_ she'd messed up, but she couldn't figure out how to fix it. She needed to talk to somebody…but who? Thomas had been avoiding her for a while now. She couldn't understand why; they'd _always_ been close. She didn't think Jericho or Violet would understand. Amy _might_ …but she and Sherry weren't very close. Obviously she couldn't go to Isabel; that might only make her even angrier.

"Hm, hm, hm-hm-hm" someone hummed from the back of the room.

"Quiet" Mr. Light growled, not looking up from the papers he was grading. Outside, the torrential downpour afflicting the town since last week continued unabated.

It was silent for a few more seconds, before the hummer took up her song again.

"Hm, hm-hm, hm-hm-hm-hm."

"Miss Potts, that's quite enough" Mr. Light said, with an irritated sigh. "Much though we'd all like it, the rain will _not_ be going away anytime soon. Disrupting class won't change that."

"C'mon, man" complained Bryant Stone, the class joker, from behind and to Sherry's right. "I mean, we're going _stir-crazy_ here." Sherry was impressed he could string together that many words; most of the time, Bryant slept through class, or goofed off with his cell phone.

"Yeah!" said Nolan, picking up where his classmate left off. "Can't we just get up and, you know, stretch our legs or something?"

Mr. Light thought about this for a moment. "Is this _really_ what everyone wants?"

There was general agreement.

Light sighed. " _Fine_. Fifteen minutes. But keep it down…as far as everyone else is concerned, we're still studying. Don't get me in trouble here." He smiled at the class conspiratorially. Just then, Sherry was confronted with an astonishing fact: her teacher, as stiff as he was, probably remembered his own exams quite clearly, and how much study days like this had sucked. After all, they hadn't been that long ago. He was suddenly a bit more sympathetic than usual.

Sherry pushed that thought aside as she and the rest of the class rose and began to form their own groups. She saw Thomas join Kirk and Nolan, and resisted the urge to join them. Instead, she made her way a row back and stood in front of the person she meant to speak to.

"Alex" she said, looking down at her friend.

Alex's head jerked up. "Oh. Hey. Sorry, I was just gonna…" her voice trailed off, and her eyes moved over to Isabel, at the far side of the room, having a conversation with William Maunalani.

"Oh, I won't get in the way. I just need a minute" Sherry replied, feeling momentarily sorry for her friend. It was obvious, at least to her, that Will had a crush on Isabel; it had to be, the way he hung on her every word, like the courtier to a particularly fickle monarch. _And why are you thinking of Isabel like_ that _?_ Sherry wondered. _Besides, how different is that_ really _from you and Kirk, anyway?_ That question was a little too pointed, so Sherry pushed it aside.

"Hey…listen, about what happened last week…Isabel shouldn't have-"

Sherry held up her hand. "No, she was right. In any case, I'm not worried about it. I appreciate you sticking up for me, though." She sighed. "No…this is about Kirk."

Alex smiled at her mischievously. "Sherry Link, do you have a _crush_?" she asked, a little louder than Sherry would've liked.

"Shut up!" Sherry said hastily, casting a quick glance in Kirk's direction. He was too busy talking to Thomas and Nolan about who knew what to notice.

"Hey, if you're coming to me for advice…I just live next to the guy, that's all. I haven't really talked to him all that much. Besides, I'm probably the _last_ person anyone should go to for boy advice."

"Actually, you're just the person I need. How…how has Kirk been getting home the last couple days?"  
"What? What sort of stalker do you think I am?"

"It's not like that! It…it may be important, is all. I have an idea, but I'll need your help to pull it off. I just need to get Kirk alone-"

" _Sure_ you do."

"Shut up. It's not like that." She explained for a few more minutes.

Alex looked at her in puzzlement. "Why come to me with this? Why not Isabel?"

"Because I think Isabel is still mad at him about last week. So…will you help me? If this works, it'll help us all."

 _And I get to score some time alone with Kirk_ Sherry didn't add, though she suspected Alex suspected that was part of her motivation. _Well, she's not stupid._

"Sherry…are you thinking this one through all the way?" Alex asked, but her eyes weren't focused on Sherry anymore. They'd drifted to the left, where she was looking at Kirk…and Thomas? _I wonder what that's about? Well, maybe she's interested in him. Good for her! She and Thomas would be good together; maybe I can give her some advice-idiot, not now! Focus!_

"What are you talking about?" Sherry asked.

Alex shook her head. "N-nothing. Don't worry about it. Just…thinking."

"Will you help me?"  
Alex nodded slowly. "Yeah…for the good of the class, yeah, I will."

Sherry smiled and patted her shoulder. "Good. We need to have girl-talk again sometime, Alexandria. We make a good team."

"You're an idiot" Alex replied, smiling back.

Sherry nodded happily. "Probably. But I'm an idiot who's on the right track. That's gotta count for something, right?"  
"Maybe. Well, catch you later."

"Yeah."

Sherry made her way back to her desk, basking in the glow of her creativity. And to think, all it had taken was for Sylvia Potts to start humming "Rain, Rain, Go Away." She'd have to explain that to her after the year was over.

She bet Sylvia would be glad to know this was all her doing.

September 18th

(KIRK)

"Ugh, this _blows_ " Nolan complained to Kirk and Thomas, standing outside the classroom. School had let out a few minutes ago, and most of 319 were on there way out the door, though a few had stopped to talk in close knots.

"I don't see what the big deal is?" Kirk answered. "I mean, we _all_ have to take tests, right?"

"Yeah, but _these_ tests…they're pointless, but we waste a whole week doing them. It's not like it's the ACT or something."

Kirk wasn't sure what the ACT was, but he figured it probably wasn't the time to ask. In any case, Thomas jumped in with his own explanation.

"The best way to get into a good college is to make an impression on their admissions board. The easiest way to do _that_ is to have taken good classes and gotten good marks when you were in high school. In order to ensure the school continues to offer those classes, which they can only do if they continue to get funding. That funding comes directly from our results on this test" he concluded, adjusting his glasses.

"You've really thought this through" Kirk said, impressed.

'Hey, remember, I told you Four Eyes here was doing everything he could to graduate before the rest of us. Trust me, this guy has his entire life for the next ten years already planned out."

Thomas made a face. "I wouldn't go _that_ far…"

"How far _would_ you go?" Isabel asked. Kirk turned to see her and her usual group as they joined the conversation.

"What are Thomas Martin's plans for the future?" she asked, a pointed question, but one she managed to not make unfriendly.

"Well…I need to be in at _least_ the top ten percent of our class. Then medical school, then residency…"  
"You want to be a doctor?" Kirk asked. As long as he'd known Thomas, that had never come up.

Thomas nodded. "Yes. Both my parents are too, but they're a psychologists and a pediatrician, respectively."

"Thomas's mom's really good" Alexandria offered, then made a face, like she'd said something she'd rather not have. "Or so I've heard, anyway…" On the other side of Isabel, Kirk saw a brief flash of triumph on Sherry's face, like she'd just figured something out. Having no idea what it was, he turned his attention back to the original conversation.

"That must've been a fun house to grow up in" offered William Maunalani, the big Hawaiian bloke. Kirk hadn't heard him speak before, but his voice was about what he'd have expected it to be; he smiled down at Thomas like a friendly giant.

Thomas smiled in embarrassment. "Yeah…I could _never_ lie my way past either of them. My sister and I both hated it."

"You have a sister?" Isabel asked, genuinely interested. "How old is she?"  
"Fourteen. She's a freshman. I don't get to see her very often here, because…we're both so busy" Thomas finished, with what sounded like an artful dodge.

"Does she want to be a doctor too?" Sherry asked.

Thomas shook his head. "No. She wants to be a writer, actually. My parents weren't especially happy about it at first, but after Sarah got some of her poems published in the newspaper, they decided to let her do what she wants."

"Good for her" said Isabel in approval.

"What about you, Isabel?" Thomas asked. "Where are you heading after high school?"

"Well, if I can play my cards right, I want to go to business school" she said. "Once upon a time, I wanted to act, but…I like being in charge."

"Why not be a director?" Kirk suggested. He'd managed to forget, mostly, his last conversation he'd had with Isabel. Now she was almost a real person; it made him wonder where her outburst last week had come from.

"That's me" Alexandria said.

"Really?" Kirk said appraisingly. "You don't seem the type."

"Well…sometimes it's better to be behind the action then right in the middle of it." She smiled fondly at Isabel. "Besides, not all of us are cut out to be in front of a camera all the time."

"Business school, huh?" Nolan asked Isabel. "That seems like a lot of work. Why would you want to do that?"

" _Some_ of us want to succeed in life, Nolan" Isabel said, irritably. "We can't all mess around all the time."

"But that's what we're _supposed_ to be doing" Nolan insisted. "That's what high school's all about!"

"Maybe for you. I want to get ahead."

Nolan shook his head. "That's an awful lot of work for nothing. You're gonna be thirty-five and all alone, and then where will you be?"  
"Oh, I'm sure it wouldn't come to that" William suggested with a sideways glare at Nolan. _Doesn't like_ _competition_ Kirk realized.

"It would if she forgets to _live_ every once in a while" Nolan shot back.

This probably would've gone on for a bit longer, but Isabel looked down at her watch. "Thomas, Alex, we'd better go. Our reservation for the meeting is in two minutes."

"Meeting?" Kirk asked.

"It's a Countermeasures thing" Thomas explained, as he and the girls started down the hall. "Nothing to worry about."

 _Sure_ Kirk told himself.

Nolan looked over at a wall clock. "Crap, not again!" He turned to Kirk. "Sorry Abe, I gotta split too. Coach'll kill me if I'm late again. See ya, Will. See ya, Sherry."

Will looked from Kirk to Sherry and back, then decided he had other places to be. "Well Kirk, it was nice to meet you" he said, offering his hand, which Kirk took and shook. "Sherry. See you two later."

Sherry waved. "Bye, Will!"

And just like that, they were alone again.

"So…how's your leg?" Kirk asked, after an awkward silence.

Sherry looked down at it. She'd taken to wearing big, purple rain boots, so he couldn't tell if she was wearing any kind of brace. "Better" she said. "Technically I'm still supposed to have it wrapped, but I feel fine." She smiled conspiratorially. "Just don't tell my doctor."

Kirk smiled back. "I'll never tell."

It was quiet again.

"So…you never said, earlier" Sherry said, somewhat shyly.

"Never said what?"

"Well…when we were all talking…what do _you_ want to be when you grow up?"

The question caught Kirk off guard. _Why are you asking me that?_ he wondered at first, but then he remembered what Jonah had said. _Oh._ "Well…it's complicated" he said, the best way he knew to describe the situation. _You see, I want to be one thing, but I don't think my dad will go for it, and…_ "What about you, Sherry? What are your plans for after high school?"  
Sherry's face reddened a little. "Well…actually, this is kind of embarrassing. Nobody in my family ever finished college."

"Really?"

She nodded. "Yeah. My mom was trying to, but then she had me and she and my dad both had to get full-time jobs. There just…wasn't any money left over. My mom's a waitress now, and my dad's a day laborer."

"What do _you_ want to be?"

Sherry shrugged. "It doesn't really matter, does it? I mean, if we can't afford college…"

"Well, you're smart. I mean, there are scholarships…"

"Maybe…" Sherry said, still not looking at him. Kirk realized, even though he hadn't meant to, he'd upset her. He reached out and put his hands on her shoulders. She tensed a little, but she didn't try to pull away, which Kirk decided was a good sign.

"Hey…tell you what. My dad…has some pull in that area, at least in England. Still, he has some good relationships with some colleges here as well. What if he put in a good word for you, in a couple of years?"

Sherry's head jerked up, her eyes very wide. " _What_? You mean, you'd do that for me? Oh, thank you! Thank you so much!"

And then she hugged him.

Kirk blinked. He hadn't expected that. "Uh…you're welcome?"  
Sherry let go of him immediately. She took a step back, her face bright red, her eyes downcast. "Sorry about that."

Kirk smiled at her. "That's okay. If you want…you can do that again some time."

Sherry's head came up again. Her face was still red, but she smiled at him shyly. "Maybe some time…" she said. Then she looked over at the clock. "Well…I'd better go. See you later, Kirk."

"You too, Sherry" he called after her, before heading for the door, his umbrella unfolding itself to shield him from the rain. Despite the cold, he felt warm inside.

Then he saw someone he hadn't expected to, making her way down the hall.

"Holly?"

She jumped, and he realized she'd been watching him and Sherry. For some reason that embarrassed him.

"Oh. Hi."

"So…what do you think of the exams?"

Holly shrugged. "I think they're tests. Nothing to get excited about."

"Well, _you_ certainly got excited. I mean, it's the first time I've actually seen you in class."

"Well…our classmates may not care if I show up, but the state of Colorado does."

"But Mr. Light didn't call your name when he was handing out the test booklets" Kirk said, remembering. It had struck him as odd at the time. "Why is that?"

"Because I don't exist" Holly replied, matter of factly, as if she were explaining why water was wet.

"What?"

Holly blinked at him. "You mean you still don't know?"  
"No. I have no idea what you're talking about, and every time I ask, I get yelled at."

"Well, I'd imagine so. I mean, you're messing around with things that aren't real. I'm sure it's upsetting them."

"I don't know what you mean. 'Things that don't exist?' And I mentioned you to Carly; she lied and said she had no idea who you were. And so did Isabel, though I thought she was going to take my head off first."

Holly's one visible eye widened. "You asked _Isabel_ about me?"

"Yeah. Is that a big deal?"

"I wouldn't…I wouldn't do that again, if I were you. I think it'd be best for all of us if you just pretended I wasn't here."

"But you _are_ here. I'm looking right at you."  
Holly sighed. "Yes. But…you're the only one. No one else can see me, Kirk. Just you."

"That's not true. You, Carly, and I talked just last week."

Holly made a face. "Don't ask me to explain things Kirk. Just drop it, okay?"

Kirk could tell he wasn't going to get any farther with this today. Instead he changed topics. "I saw you walking home, after it first started raining. When I didn't see you for a few days, I thought you'd caught pneumonia and died" he added, as a joke, but Holly didn't smile.

Instead, she sighed. "It would've made things a lot simpler if I had. "

"Why were you walking home? And without an umbrella? Weren't you afraid you'd get sick?"  
Holly shrugged. "I don't…dislike rain. In fact, we're coming up on my favorite season for it. I love the rain, especially the cold rain that falls in the winter before it snows."

"Why?"

"Because…it's the best way to tell I'm still alive."

"So you'd accept being miserable just because of the sensation?"

Holly shrugged again. "What can I say? I'm a bit strange."

"I wouldn't go _that_ far….you seem okay to me" Kirk offered.

Holly smiled faintly. "Well…thanks. For what it's worth, you don't seem so bad either."

"What are you doing now? Walking home again?"

Holly shook her head. "No. My mom was nonplussed when she found out I did that last week, so she's coming to get me. I'm heading to the art room; I'll wait for her there."

"Is that something you're going to do every day?" Kirk asked.

Holly shrugged. "Probably."

"Well, then…I guess I'll see you there."

"Maybe. I'll see you-"

"But I won't see you. Yes, I've gathered. It hasn't worked out that way so far."

Holly shrugged again. "Well…you never know." Without another word, she walked away.

September 19th

It was raining when Kirk got to school, and it was still raining when it was time for their lunch break, midway through the second, and final, of their examination days.

"This is stupid" Lincoln was complaining to Sylvia and Kenny as the class made their way down the hall. "Why are we having exams _now_? We haven't learned anything. Wouldn't it be better to do them at the end of the year?"

"Maybe they want to test what we've learned up until now?" Sylvia suggested.

Kirk, Thomas, Jerry, and Nolan were a few steps behind. Kirk looked at his bespectacled friend. "Why do _you_ think we're taking the test this early?"

Thomas shrugged. "Honestly? I think ours is not to reason why, Kirk. Considering some of the…unwise things the school district has done this year, I think when we take our examinations is kind of a moot point, don't you?"

Kirk decided that position had some merit to it. Still…there was a bit more heat to his friend's response then it probably deserved. _I wonder what that's about?_

Lunch was a fairly bland affair. Truth be told, it wasn't _that_ different from what they served in England. American beef was generally better, but whatever mystery meat they put in school-lunch burgers here was just as tasteless as what they used in England.

Violet was picking at her own soggy chips, a look of disgust on her face. "It's a shame _these_ fries don't make us smarter. I feel like I could use all the help I can get."

Nolan looked at her in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

Kirk got it immediately. "That would be nice...but I'd prefer to think the lunch ladies aren't great bat-aliens."

Violet smiled in appreciation, but Nolan just looked more confused. "What are you talking about?"  
"It's a TV show, Fletch. Don't worry about it; besides, you wouldn't get it even if I explained it to you."

"That's not fair! You can't have inside-jokes with Abe! He's _my_ new guy!"

"New guy?" Kirk repeated, a little offended. And here he thought he'd been accepted…

"I think we can share him, Nolan" Amy said, placatingly.

"I don't _wanna_ share."

"Don't be an infant" Thomas said, somewhat irritably. "There's plenty of him to go around."

Amy pursed her lips. "You coulda worded that one a little better, Thomas."

Thomas sighed. "Yeah…"

Kirk finished his lunch (it had taken a few days to stop thinking of it as "dinner"), dumped his trash, and made his way out of the cafeteria. As he did, something stuck out to him: while the rest of the school was more or less integrated, he didn't see anyone from outside 319 sitting with his classmates. _It's like we're quarantined_ he thought. _But against_ what _?_ _Just one more mystery, and my life is already starting to fill up with those_. Still…there was a way he might be able to solve one of them.

Kirk made his way to the library. He still had fifteen minutes before he had to report back to class, and he planned to make use of that time.

Carly Tachibana was behind the counter. When he walked in, he saw her head jerk up, then immediately drop down, as if she wanted to pretend she hadn't seen him. Kirk wasn't going to let her get off that easily, however.

"Carly" he said, stepping up to the counter. "I thought you were in with the rest of us taking exams all day. What are you doing in here?"

"Well, there was work to be done, and I'm the only student-aide for the library" she replied, shrugging and not looking up from the books she was currently checking in. "Not many people want to work in the library."

"Why is that?"

Carly set down the book she'd just scanned, but didn't pick up another. "It's not…this isn't a happy place" she finished, still not look at him.

 _I can't imagine_ why Kirk thought, looking around the drab room.

"Is there something I can help you with? I'm a little busy at the moment…"

"Actually, yes. Can you tell me where the school year books are kept?"

Now Carly looked up at him. "Why?" she asked, pushing her glasses back up her nose.

"Curiosity" Kirk replied honestly. Besides, he suspected if he asked her again, she'd just lie to him. _But I can outmaneuver this_ he thought triumphantly.

"They're over there" Carly said, gesturing toward a row of shelves in a corner, near one of the windows. "They're arranged by year. It's a pretty simple system. Just…please put them back when you're done. I don't have time to reshelf things this week."

"Don't worry. I won't make a mess" Kirk replied. But he said it to the back of her head; Carly had already gone back to work.

True to her word, Kirk found the yearbooks exactly as Carly had described them. A quick search of the spines found him what he was looking for: _Year 2007-2008._ Carefully he pulled the book out of the shelf, before he noticed something. The previous volumes all had a healthy amount of dust on them, yet the most recent yearbook was completely clean. _Someone's been looking at this before_ Kirk realized.

He took the yearbook to one of the library's small seating areas and selected an extremely comfortable looking arm chair. Settling down, he began to page through the book.

For the most part, it was filled with black and white pictures of various school functions the purpose of which Kirk couldn't begin to understand. However, mid way through the book, he found what he was looking for: the pages devoted to the student's class pictures.

His eyes skimmed the pages. He immediately recognized Amy Belle: she'd had braces last year, and if anything her smile seemed even more shy than usual. And there was Jerry; amazingly, he actually looked a little _more_ effeminate last year…

Just above Jerry's picture was one of a Latina girl with long, dark hair hanging lose over her shoulders. It took Kirk a moment to realize he was looking at Isabel. _Hm. She looks so…_ different _here. I wonder what changed?_

Next to her picture was another of a boy with similar facial features; it was too close to be a coincidence. Kirk's eyes drifted over to the side, where each student's name was listed.

 **ALVAR CASTILLE (10)**

 _So, Isabel has a brother? And he's a year ahead of us. Interesting._

Kirk kept turning pages. He stopped briefly to chuckle at Nolan's enormous grin, or the equally exuberant one on Violet's face before moving on.

 _H, I,..J. Here we are_ …

Except, here they weren't. The page which would've featured the first few J names was completely gone, front and back. _What the heck?_ Kirk wondered, checking the page numbers. Sure enough, two were missing, the book jumping from page 180 to 183. _What the heck?_

Carly looked up when he sat the yearbook down on the counter in front of her.

"Kirk, you can't check that out. It's a reference book. It has to stay in the library at all times."

Kirk didn't respond. Instead he flipped the book open to the same spot. "Count" he instructed.

Carly did so. "There's a page missing? _Perfect_. How did you figure it out?"

"I was looking for someone's picture. This is the page it should've been on."

Carly looked at him calmly. "Are you suggesting something?"  
"Listen, I know you won't give me a straight answer, so let me phrase this another way. Say I was doing research on something, but my best source of information is…faulty. You're a librarian. What would you recommend?"

"You can't rely on one source of information for everything" Carly replied. "If you want to find answers, sometimes you've got to approach a question from another direction. If the track you're on is a dead end, maybe you need to start somewhere else."

"Thanks" Kirk said, meaning it. She'd been a bit more helpful than he'd anticipated. _Maybe it's all in how you ask_ he thought.

"Leave that here" she instructed, when Kirk started to take the book back to its shelf. "I'll have to take it to Mr. Clemens."

"Mr. Clemens?"  
Carly nodded. "He's the head librarian. He's usually in his office in the back. Not many people go back there; it gives people the creeps."

"Is that why no one wants to work in the library?"

"Partially."

"Then why are you here?"  
Carly looked at him for a moment. "Truthfully? Because someone had to do the job. Thanks for bringing this to my attention, Kirk. I'll see you later."

Kirk checked his watch. He still had a few minutes to get back to class. _I can probably get some reading done_ he thought. He was about midway through learning about the mystery of Innsmouth, and…his neighbor was standing outside the classroom, aiming a camera mounted on a tripod out one of the school's large windows at the parking lot. Next to her was a long, blue nylon sleeve, propped up against the wall.

"Alexandria? What are you doing?" he asked.

"B-roll."  
"Excuse me?"

She didn't look up. "It's what they show in news programs when they're doing voiceovers. It's a way to pad for time without showing someone's face. It's for the broadcast club."

"Oh…wait, am I ruining your shot right now?"

"No…I record the voices later. Don't worry. The camera's microphone isn't even on."

"So…what's the story you're recording this for?"

"What do you think?" Alexandria asked, panning the camera back and forth across the parking lot. "Nothing much is happening this month...nothing but rain."

"A…friend of mine likes this type of weather" Kirk offered.

"Why? It's cold, and wet, and miserable. Isn't life bleak enough without reveling in something like this?" Alexandria asked, turning to look at him.

"Life's not all sunshine and rainbows."

"Maybe not, but that doesn't mean I want to go wallow in despair, either."

They stared at each other for a moment.

"So…do you pay attention to the morning bulletin?" Alexandria asked, returning to her camera.

"Sometimes…" Kirk allowed.

"What do you think?"  
"Well…we don't do anything like them at my old school."  
"That's the most tactful evasion I've heard for a while. You English really are polite, aren't you? What do you _really_ think?" she asked, turning back around to face him.

"Honestly?" Kirk thought about how he wanted to phrase things. "I think they're a waste of time. I mean, it's nice to know what's going on, except nothing _ever_ seems to be going on, and the jokes are stale. Of course, it'd help if the person reading them sounded like she _cared…_ Oh my God, that's you, isn't it?"

Alexandria sighed. "Yeah…I'm the reader."

"And the jokes?"  
Alexandria made a face. "Mine too."

"Sorry."

She shrugged. "It happens. Now…what would you change?"

"I dunno…maybe bring in someone else every once in a while? Someone for you to interact with?" _Someone to bring in some character, since you're about as exciting as two old men playing chess._ "Why are you doing them anyway? You don't sound like you're very happy about it."

"It's the job they gave me. I _wanted_ to do something with the actual school news program in the afternoons, but…three-nineteen can't participate."

"Why not?"

"It's…complicated."

"Something to do with Countermeasures?"

"I can't answer that."

"I think you just did."

Alexandria's eyes narrowed. "I don't think this is a friendly conversation anymore. Is it normal in England for someone to interrogate their classmates like this?"

"You know, Holly Jordan asked me the same thing."

What anger had been present on Alexandria's face drained away immediately, replaced by panic. Her eyes went very wide. "Kirk…don't-"

"Mention that name again. I know. Sherry yelled the same thing at me last week. In fact, I seem to get yelled at _whenever_ I mention her. I wonder what would happen if I stood up in class and asked Mr. Light about her?"  
Alexandria's eyes narrowed. "That…would be a mistake" she said coldly. Just then the bell rang. She folded up her tripod and slid it into the bag. "This conversation is over. I'll keep it between us _this_ time because I don't think you're doing it on purpose, but don't ever bring this up to me again. Got it?" Without waiting for a response, she gathered up her things and headed for the classroom.

Not sure what else to do, Kirk followed her, making his way back to his desk. It was when he sat down that he realized something was missing.

His umbrella was gone.

(SHERRY)

Sherry couldn't wait for the bell to ring. She was sick of exams, sick of these four walls, sick of being stuck here in the rain, sick _everything_ …and she was, honestly, a little bit excited. Her plan was coming together quite nicely.

"So, Kirk…" she said, after the bell rang,

"Yes?"

"What…what do you think of America?" she asked, then immediately hated herself for how stupidly the question came out.

"Well…I liked it pretty well, right up until someone stole my umbrella."

"Oh…that's too bad."

"Yeah, it's not much fun. And walking home today will be even less fun."

"All this rain…it must remind you of England, right?"

Kirk shrugged. "A little. But this…this is a bit ridiculous, even for us." He stood up. "Well, I've got to go. I'll see you Monday?" he asked, moving past her toward the door.

"Wait!"

He stopped and turned to look at her. "Is everything okay?"

"Uh…yeah…listen, I don't like the idea of you walking home in the rain. Not after what happened…at the beginning of the year…" Sherry said, suddenly, irrationally nervous. _Get it together_ she told herself. _You've come this far. Just a little further…_ "My umbrella's pretty big, and…we don't live that far apart. Do you wanna…go together?"

"Are you sure that's a good idea? I mean, your leg…"

"Well, I won't tell Dr. Hughes if _you_ don't" Sherry said, playfully. "So, what'll it be?"

Kirk nodded, then smiled. "Okay. Sounds good."

All the way down the hallway, Sherry was worried Kirk would hear her heart beating and wonder where the marching band was. _Calm_ down she instructed herself. _The hard part is over._

Suddenly, Kirk stopped. "That's funny" he said quietly, looking out over the side of the stairs.

"What is?"

Kirk pointed to Alex, two levels down. "She's not using that case for her tripod anymore, see? She's got it over her shoulder. But there's _something_ in there…"

"Everything okay?"

Kirk nodded slowly. "Yeah…Hey, I just remembered I left something upstairs. Do you mind if we detour to go get it?" he asked. For some reason, he wouldn't quite meet her eyes.

Sherry shrugged. "Sure. Lead on."

"Thanks. This'll only take a second."

Kirk led her to one of the art rooms. "It's right through here" he said, holding the door open. "After you."

 _What a gentleman_ Sherry thought. "Thank…you" she said, when she saw the room's sole occupant.

Holly Jordan stared back at her, her one visible eye very, very wide.

 _Calm down, Sherry. Think it through. No reason to panic._ "Uh…Kirk…why don't I just wait outside?" she stammered, nervous now for totally different reasons. She turned to find him standing in the doorway, blocking her exit.

"No more lies" he said, his voice cold. "I know you can see her. Now tell me what the _bloody hell_ is going on here."

"It's…we're…" Sherry stammered. She could feel tears welling up in her eyes. "Why are you doing this to me? What did I ever do to you? I just wanted to be your friend, and _this_ is how you repay me?" she sobbed.

Kirk's eyes widened, and his face softened. "Sherry…it's okay. Just-"

But Sherry wasn't interested in listening to him anymore. Instead she pushed past him, running for the door, one hand fishing for her cell phone. So what if Doctor Hughes had told her not to run? She needed to get away from here _now_ , and then… _Isabel isn't going to like this!_

"Sherry! Sherry, I'm sorry!" Kirk called after her, but it was too late. She was already gone, down the hallway. Nothing was going to stop her.

(KIRK)

Holly stared at him. "You shouldn't have done that" she said coldly.

Kirk wanted to argue with her, but…he knew he needed to catch up to his friend first. "Sherry, wait!"

(ALEX)

Alex wished the rain would either stop or come down full force. Half-assing it like this was just irritating her. At the moment, it was sprinkling, and her jacket and her hair were both sticking to her in ways not especially comfortable. She knew she was going to need to defog her glasses soon, too…

"Alex!"

At the sound of her name, Alex's head jerked up. "Sherry?" she called out, seeing her friend dashing down the steps. "What happened?"

"It's Kirk, he- _Holly_!" That was as far as she got.

Sherry's left ankle suddenly dropped out from beneath her, seemingly of its own accord. Sherry's eyes went wide, but she didn't scream, though her mouth was open and she gasped. Her hand tensed on the handle of her umbrella, which sprang open as she fell, and for half a second Alex thought she was about to imitate Mary Poppins and glide down the stairs. Instead, she dropped the umbrella, which clattered down the stairs, her cell phone sailing in the opposite direction. It hit the concrete hard, bouncing once.

Sherry's umbrella came to a stop at the base of the stairs, open and resting on its side, like some sort of horrible satellite dish. And Sherry still hadn't managed to stop…

And then she did.

"Oh _God_ …"

(KIRK)

It was the sounds of someone screaming that brought him outside and down the steps into the courtyard outside the school, a cold rain sprinkling him and seemingly heightening his sense. What he found there made his heart stop.

Alexandria was holding Sherry at the base of the stone steps leading to the car park, one hand pressed over the other girl's neck. Both of them were stained pink with blood, which washed off them and formed an evil red river draining down the sidewalk. Alex was holding the other girl close, trying to stop the bleeding. Sherry's eyes were wide and full of fear; her glasses broken and lying a few meters away. She kept trying to say something, but Alexandria wouldn't let her talk.

"Sh…It's okay…it's okay" she said, soothingly. "You're gonna be fine. Look at me. _Look_ at me. Everything is gonna be okay."

Sherry croaked something, wet and horrible. It was a sound Kirk knew he'd never forget.

Alexandria caught sight of him. "Kirk!" she shouted, frantic. "Call an ambulance!"

"Is she al-?"

" _Right now!_ "

"Right" Kirk muttered, digging out his mobile and punching in 911…

August 10th

(ISABEL)

"Okay guys," Isabel said, putting an arm around her friends. Her eyes were focused on the phone Sherry held above them. "Everyone _smile_!"

There was a fake click, and the camera snapped the photo. Sherry flipped her phone over. "See? Beautiful. Now _that's_ how you take a picture."

"Don't get a big head" Alex chided. Then she cocked her head to the side. "Okay, I'll admit, that's not bad."

Isabel watched her friends bicker. _This is what it's all about_ she thought. _No matter what…I've gotta look out for these two…_

An idea was forming in her head…it was a serious step she was about to take, but then, these were desperate times, after all…

September 19th

(KIRK)

There was still blood where Sherry had fallen, though most of it had been washed away by the rain, as had what had run onto her umbrella. The paramedics were long gone; even the ambulance's sirens had already faded into the distance.

Alexandria sat on the curb, her knees clutched close to her chest, Sherry's mobile in her hand. She kept staring at the cracked screen, and the picture Sherry had shown him of the girls last week.

"Are…are you okay?" he asked, knowing it was a stupid question even as he spoke the words. _Of course_ she wasn't okay. One of her friends had nearly bled to death in her arms.

Alexandria didn't look up. She kept staring at the phone.

Kirk reached out his hand, but just before his fingers touched her shoulder, she spoke.

"It wasn't supposed to be like this" she said softly.

"What? What are you talking about?"

Alexandria's head slowly turned to look at him. He could see now, that despite the rainwater on her face, she was crying, her eyes already rimmed red. "It wasn't supposed to be _Sherry_. Anyone but her…oh God…what am I gonna tell Isabel? _Jesus…_ "

"I think…I think this is my fault…"

"What do you mean?"  
"I…I cornered her…I think I scared her into running."

Alexandria looked at him in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"I…She saw Holly Jordan, and…she _ran_. Why would she do that?"

Alexandria stared at him in disbelief for a moment. "What…what did you _do_?"

"I don't know. I have no idea what's going…and now…Sherry…She acted like I'd betrayed her. Like she was afraid of me. She asked what she'd ever done to deserve what I did. Why would she do that?"

Alexandria sniffled, but her eyes remained focused on him. "Kirk" she said, her voice wavering but still trying to be firm. "There's…something you need to know…"

"What?"

"It's…complicated…but it concerns you too. Don't…don't tell Isabel, but…our whole class…there's this-"

"Alexandria Noble?" a voice called out.

Kirk looked over to see the school nurse hurrying down the sidewalk. "Alex, are you alright?"

Alexandria nodded lamely.

"I called your mom" the nurse explained. "I told her what happened. She's on her way to get you…both of you" she said, looking at Kirk. "Your grandmother said it was okay." She reached down and helped Alexandria to her feet. "Now, I need to take Alex to my office for her medicine. Will you be alright here, or-?"

"I'll be fine" Kirk promised.

The nurse nodded. "Okay. Mrs. Noble should be here soon. Why don't you wait inside?"

"Maybe in a minute" Kirk said, but he said it to the nurse's back; she was already leading Alexandria toward the building.

Kirk stood there for a moment, not sure what to do. His mind kept going back to Sherry, and the horrified look on her face before she'd run. _Is this my fault? Did this happen because of_ me _?_

Kirk looked up at the school building. Suddenly, he felt like he was being watched… _there_ , on the fourth floor. A small shape at the window.

"Holly?" Kirk muttered.

Then his chest was suddenly on fire and his vision constricted. Kirk saw the ground rise up to meet him…

Darkness.


	14. Three Days Later

12: Three Days Later

September 22nd

(ALEX)

Kirk wasn't at school on Monday. Alex's mother had found him collapsed in front of the school and had called 911 again, and, fearing _another_ student was in mortal peril, the second one had arrived in just under two minutes, whisking him back off to the hospital. She'd asked Miss Lily (or Miss Godiva; she wasn't quite sure what she was supposed to call her teacher/neighbor) about him, but she'd said Kirk was fine. He'd just had a shock.

 _Haven't we all?_ Alex thought, looking at the empty desk in the front of the room.

Sherry Link passed away at four twenty seven on September 19th. She arrived at the hospital at four thirty, and was pronounced dead on arrival. It was still hard for Alex to imagine her always positive and friendly classmate was gone…she couldn't imagine what it was doing to Isabel…or Thomas.

The three of them were sitting together at Isabel's desk. Thomas kept clenching and unclenching his hands; clearly he wanted to do _something_. Just as clearly, he had no idea what.

"I can't believe she's gone" Isabel said quietly, her eyes focused on the floor in front of her desk. "I…I _never_ thought it'd be Sherry…"

Thomas didn't say anything. Of the three, he was the one Alex was most worried about. The calm and rational one, he and Sherry had been close, though not as close as he would've liked, Alex suspected. _Who watches the watcher?_ she wondered.

"I…I failed" Isabel said. "I let Sherry down."

"No." Alex touched her arm. "No, don't do this to yourself. Sherry wouldn't want it." She took a deep breath. "What's done is done. We-"

"What's done is done?" Thomas snapped. "Sherry is _gone_ , Alex. She is _dead_. Don't expect me to act like that's not a big deal."

"No…but right now, we've got to decide what we're going to do about it."

"It? You really think…?" Isabel asked. "I mean, it can't be. We all followed the rules-"

"Not all of us" Thomas said darkly.

"We can't blame him for that. He didn't know. He _couldn't_ know. Besides, we don't know what really happened. Maybe it was just an accident…"

"But Alex…" Isabel said. "It wasn't just Sherry. Her parents…they died too."

"I know…"

"What are we going to do?" Thomas asked Isabel.

"I think it may be time to consider the Countermeasures have failed' Alex suggested.

Isabel shook her head. "No. I won't give up that easily. We just…need to try something new."

"New Countermeasures? Is that even possible?" Thomas asked.

"I'll _make it_ possible" Isabel replied. "I'll do some thinking. Besides…maybe Alex is right. Maybe this was all an accident. Maybe it'll stop here." She took a deep breath. "Well…we'll know in a month, won't we?"


End file.
